


He may be the face I can't forget

by TheElementOfSurprise



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Notting Hill (1999), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Notting Hill Fusion, Awkward Flirting, Eventual Smut, F/M, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Romance, Strangers to Lovers, The Avengers Are Good Bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:07:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28502709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheElementOfSurprise/pseuds/TheElementOfSurprise
Summary: Of course, Darcy had seen him on the news and always thought he was, well...amazing, but, you know, a million miles (and a bridge) from the world that she lived in, which was Brooklyn, her favourite part of New York City. There she lived with her lodger, Bruce, in an apartment with a blue door that she had bought with Ian, before he had left her for a woman who looked exactly like Julia Roberts.It was just another hopeless Wednesday when she set off through the streets to her little independent bookshop, little knowing that would be the day that would change her life forever...A ShieldShock Notting Hill AU.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Comments: 66
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This began life as a bookstore owner Darcy/Captain America meet cute, until I realised I was basically writing a Notting Hill AU so I just decided to run with it.  
> To avoid confusion, Darcy, Jane, Clint, Laura, Scott, Wanda and Bruce do not have powers of any kind, and have no affiliations with the Avengers.  
> Steve, Tony, Bucky, Natasha, Sam and Thor are the Avengers, who all live in the Tower and have the same basic origin stories as in the movies.  
> Enjoy!

**_America’s Sweetheart - Captain America, the Man behind the Myth_ **

_The New Yorker_

Darcy looked up from the dismal breakdown of her recent sales push as the bell above the shop door jingled merrily to announce a new customer. A tall, broad shouldered man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses sidled in, glancing diffidently around the cluttered bookshop. Darcy straightened up behind the cash register as she eyed him surreptitiously. There was something vaguely familiar about the strong shape of his jaw and his slightly crooked nose but even as she racked her brains she couldn’t place him. Surely, she would remember meeting someone so deliciously built?

‘Morning,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Can I help you with anything today?’

The man cast a swift glance in her direction and then dropped his gaze, shaking his head slowly.

‘No, thank you, ma’am. I was just browsing,’ he said in a low voice, turning away and moving between the bookshelves, stepping carefully around a teetering stack of new releases that she’d not yet finished unpacking.

‘Well, just let me know if you need anything at all,’ she called after him. 

He didn’t reply and Darcy slumped back against the desk, rubbing her temples to try to ease her headache. It didn’t help. The headache lay on the printed page in front of her in the form of minus signs and red-highlighted figures. She huffed and then leaned casually sideways, craning her neck to peek at her new customer. The man stood in the Art section flicking through a heavy tome with apparent interest, his sunglasses now perched on the brim of his hat.

‘I wouldn’t buy that one,’ she said without thinking. He looked around, momentarily confused and then caught sight of her peering around the shelves. He gave her a perplexed frown and Darcy could feel her cheeks heating up. ‘You know, if browsing turned to a massive orgy of buying. The writing style is kind of dry and no-one thought to reprint it when colour printing became a thing so all the photos of the artwork are in black and white. There’s a much better one with some gorgeous colour photos, by Gombrich, somewhere over there,’ she said quickly. 

‘Thanks, I'll bear that in mind, ’ he said, giving her a small but dazzling smile. Darcy ducked her head awkwardly and her gaze fell on the grainy CCTV feed of the back of the shop.

Her only other customer, a dark-haired man with sharp cheekbones and a permanent sneer, glanced furtively around and then stuffed the book he was holding down the front of his trousers.

Darcy grimaced. She pushed herself up with a sigh and stomped towards the back of the store.

‘Dude,’ she said, cornering him in the very back row of shelves. ‘Bad news,’ she continued and pointed to the camera above his head. ‘That’s a security camera.’

He looked up.

‘So?’ he said insolently and with a decided leer.

‘So,’ she said, drawing out the syllable sarcastically. ‘I just saw you put that book down your trousers.’ She tried not to grind her teeth irritably when all he did was shrug. She could really do without having to deal with this kind of crap today. ‘Now, the way I see it, we’ve got two options. One, I go back to the front of the store and you put that book back where you found it, or better yet, buy it. Or two, I call the police and we let them deal with it.’ His eyes narrowed speculatively at her and Darcy suppressed the urge to shudder. ‘I’ll give you a minute to think about it.’

She shot him an ominous scowl and then returned to her desk where her artistic customer was waiting for her, the boring black and white book perched on the counter. Quickly wiping the frown from her face she plastered on a bright smile and reached for his purchase.

'Sorry about that,' she said. 

‘No, it's fine. I was going to steal one myself but now I’ve changed my mind,’ he murmured with a mischievous smile that made her stomach do a little flip. It was probably the first time that had happened since Ian had left. She tried not to read anything into it, turning the book over to find the barcode.

Before she could scan it the dark-haired man approached the counter clutching an only slightly crumpled book. He ignored Darcy, gave the taller man a slow, impertinent onceover and then waved a scrap of paper in his direction, saying in tone of studied insouciance, ‘Can I have your autograph?’

Realisation dawned and Darcy couldn't believe she had been fooled by such a basic hat and sunglasses disguise.

_Captain America! That was why he looked so familiar!_

Captain America frowned censoriously, looking down at the other man. ‘You going to buy that book?’

The man looked taken aback but nodded hastily, some of his bravado falling away as he shoved a rumpled note across that counter to Darcy without looking at her. She plucked it triumphantly from his hand and rang up the purchase on the till.

‘Good,’ the Nation’s - and now Darcy’s - personal hero said with a firm nod. ‘You know, if you can’t afford to buy books, son, there’s a lending library just around the corner. Stealing is wrong, as I’m sure you know, and it’s incredibly selfish to steal from little independent shops like this that are trying to compete with the big chain stores.’

The sheer Captain America-ness of his tone, and the disappointment in his eyes, made Darcy want to stand to attention and salute. Even the would-be thief looked a little chastised. Captain America took the paper the other man had thrust at him.

‘What’s your name, son?’

‘Brock,’ he said quickly, watching as Captain America scribbled his signature on the paper. Darcy rolled her eyes. Of course, his name was _Brock_ , the arrogant jerk! 

‘Well, Brock, I hope, in future, you’ll think very carefully about how your actions might impact others and do the right thing.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Brock choked out, taking his signature and hurrying out of the store, casting several glances of disbelief back over his shoulder.

Darcy gave a small cough to cover her laugh and picked up the art book again.

‘Thanks,’ she said with a grin as she took his payment. ‘That was pretty impressive. _I_ was covered in shame and I wasn’t even the one stuffing books down my trousers.’

‘It was nothing, really,’ he shrugged, looking a little embarrassed so Darcy let the subject drop.

‘I’m glad to see you went with this one. None of those garish, vulgar colour photos you see in so many art books these days,’ she prattled as she put the book in a bag for him and handed it over. ‘I hope you have a lovely day,’ she said, beaming at him.

He took the bag from her with a shy smile that made her stomach do that flippy thing again and nodded once.

‘Thank you, ma’am. You too,’ he said, putting his sunglasses back on and turning towards the door.

Darcy kept the smile on her face until he had left the shop and then she slumped against the counter with a huff of amazement.

_Captain America had been in the bookshop! She had spoken to Captain America!_

She groaned and tried not to obsess over how much cooler she should have been until the chiming of the bell brought her out of her reverie. Wanda bounced into the shop trailing red scarves and the scent of vanilla.

‘Hi Darcy, sorry I’m late, traffic was hellish,’ she said enfolding Darcy in a swift hug and then hoisting herself up onto the cash desk. Darcy didn’t bother to point out that Wanda took the subway to work.

‘You’ll never guess who was just in here!’ Darcy said without thinking and then immediately wanted to take the words back. She wasn’t ready to discuss her close encounter, wanting a bit longer to enjoy the daydream before it was picked apart by her friends.

‘Oh my God, was it someone famous? I bet it was! This is so unfair! I’ve never met anyone famous!’ Wanda straight away began lamenting.

‘No, no nothing like that, just someone I used to know,’ Darcy lied.

‘It would be exciting though, wouldn’t it, if someone famous came into the shop?’ Wanda said, clapping her hands together.

‘Yeah, it would,’ Darcy agreed absently.

‘I did once see the Black Widow on the subway,’ Wanda said smugly. ‘She was in the next carriage in her uniform, Widow’s bites and everything.’

‘On the subway?’ Darcy queried after a pause.

‘Yeah,’ Wanda said with enthusiasm. ‘I couldn’t see her very well, she had her back to me but it was her.’

‘It just seems a little odd that the Black Widow would be on the subway at all, let alone in full uniform.’

Wanda took a moment to contemplate that.

‘There were all those people in London who saw Thor in the subway,’ she said defensively. Darcy raised an eyebrow and Wanda shrugged in defeat. ‘It could have been a really good cosplay,’ she admitted reluctantly before giving Darcy a playful smack to the shoulder. ‘You’re such a killjoy!’

‘Sorry,’ Darcy said. ‘But it wasn’t a classic anecdote.’ She grinned as Wanda rolled her eyes and tutted. ‘I’m going to go get my lunch, do you want anything?’ Darcy asked, grabbing her handbag from under the counter.

Wanda gave her a sloppy salute. ‘No thanks, Boss. You go enjoy your break. I’ll be here, taking care of everything.’

Darcy waved absently over her shoulder and headed out in the street in search of sustenance. She picked up a sandwich from the deli a block away and then treated herself to a gigantic, lurid blue slushy, all sugar and e-numbers, which she slurped happily as she wandered back through the bright, busy Brooklyn streets.

Practically skipping, she rounded the corner and slammed straight into a very well-muscled brick wall, the lid flying off her oversized cup and the icy contents sloshing down the front of the man she had just bumped in to.

‘Shit!’ she exclaimed as he jumped back with a strangled yelp. ‘God, I’m so sorry.’

She was holding several napkins in her hand and without thinking she began to dab futilely at the mess she had just made. She had somehow managed to miss his leather jacket but there was no saving his white t-shirt. It was now stained a fluorescent shade of blue and icy liquid was dripping down onto his jeans. Her eyes travelled up his torso where the t-shirt clung indecently to the hard planes of his chest, and then to his face.

Her heart stopped, and she quickly dropped her hand away.

_Holy fuck!_

Of all the people, the now familiar face of Captain America stared back at her from underneath his cap.

‘Oh god, it’s you. I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you and then bam, you were there!’ she babbled. Captain America gave an exasperated sigh and looked down at his dripping clothes, holding his miraculously dry shopping bags away from his body.

‘Shit,’ he muttered, to her surprise. ‘I’ve got a press conference in an hour. Tony’s not going to be happy if I turn up looking like this.’ He shook his head and glanced around uncertainly.

‘Listen,’ Darcy said quickly. ‘My apartment is really close. You could wash up there and I’m pretty sure I could find you one of my ex-boyfriend’s old t-shirts to wear. We can have you all cleaned up and off to your press conference in a matter of minutes.’

He stopped looking around and regarded her a little doubtfully for a moment. ‘How close?’ he said eventually.

Darcy pointed across the road. ‘You see that blue door? That’s the front door of my apartment building.’

He thought for a moment and then seemed to shake off his initial suspicion. ‘Yeah, that would be great, thank you.’

‘It’s the very least I can do,’ Darcy said, leading the way across the street. She ushered him in the front door and he followed her hesitantly up the stairs to her apartment. Once inside, and trying very hard not to lose her cool at the thought that _Captain America_ was in her apartment, she directed him to the bathroom. ‘Help yourself to anything. There’s a clean towel on the back of the door,’ she called as he shut the door behind him.

Racing into the kitchen she began flinging the dirty breakfast dishes in the sink and scrubbing the table to try and shift the various stains and coffee rings that adorned it. It wasn’t making much difference so she stopped and put the kettle on, spooning coffee into two mugs with misplaced optimism. Remembering she had promised him something to wear she ran into her room, scrabbling around in her chest of drawers to find a discarded t-shirt of Ian’s. When she eventually found one she held it up and surveyed it critically. It was old but not too worn and though Ian didn’t have anywhere near the same breadth of shoulder it was better than nothing.

The bathroom door clicked audibly and she went back to the living room where she found him staring intently at one of the prints on her wall.

Darcy’s breath caught in her throat. He looked absolutely delicious. Gone were the stained jeans and t-shirt and instead he worn a pair of fitted black trousers and a dark blue dress shirt, the collar unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled loosely up to his elbows. His exposed forearms and large hands were lightly tanned and lean, and somehow gave off an aura of competence and strength that left her weak at the knees. 

_God, he was glorious._

He turned to find her staring and his cheeks grew flushed, as if he could read her thoughts. He gestured to the shopping bags at his feet which now, presumably contained his soiled clothes.

‘I’d been shopping, so thank you for the thought but I don’t need the t-shirt,’ he said with a nod to the garment still clutched in her hands. Darcy glanced down at it and threw it carelessly on the sofa.

‘No, I see that. Can I get you something? Do you want a coffee, or some water, or milk?’ She began opening her kitchen cupboards haphazardly. ‘Or some juice? I’m pretty sure I have some mango juice here.’

Captain America shook his head. ‘No, thank you, ma’am.’

'Or something to eat? I'm sure I could whip you up something quick if you were hungry.'

'No, thank you, ma'am.' 

‘Darcy, it’s Darcy. I mean, I’m Darcy, Mr…Captain…Rogers…America.’

God, she was an idiot.

He smiled and extended a hand. ‘Hi Darcy, just Steve is fine.’

‘Steve,’ she breathed, giddy from the sound of her name on his lips and the clasp of his hand around hers.

Neither of them spoke for several moments, Darcy self-consciously avoiding his eye as she mentally flailed around for any topic of conversation. She was saved from her own shortcomings by Steve whose eyes had settled back on her Marc Chagall print, _La Mari_ _ée_ , in the intervening silence.

‘I like your painting,’ he said.

‘Oh?’ she said in surprise. ‘It’s just a print but it’s my favourite.’

‘One of mine too, I have it hanging in my bedroom.’

She tried not to dwell on the thought of his bedroom, of rumpled sheets, and perhaps, a sleepy, naked Steve Rogers amongst them.

She was a pervert, it was clear to her now.

‘I think we’re all yearning for something that is lost, at one time or another,’ she said softly, the only thing she could think to say that wasn’t some kind of totally inappropriate proposition. She looked up to find Steve regarding her with an arrested expression on his face.

He nodded slowly in agreement, holding her gaze. ‘Loss is a very human condition, I think that’s why the painting speaks to so many people.’

His phone suddenly trilled from his pocket and he pulled it out with a frown.

‘Sorry, I have to go,’ he said. ‘I’m going to be late.’

‘Sure, of course,’ Darcy said following him to the front door. ‘Sorry again for throwing my drink over you.’

‘It’s all fine now,’ he said easily and turned to face her. He reached out and took her hand. ‘It was really nice to meet you, Darcy,’ he murmured before raising her hand to his lips and pressing the gentlest of soft kisses to the back of her knuckles, his blue eyes never wavering from her face. Darcy gaped at him, her heart hammering in her chest, and in that frozen moment of silence between them she watched his cheeks slowly flush pink.

He dropped her hand suddenly, as if he had been burned, and cleared his throat.

‘Um…’ He fumbled with the door lock, until it clicked open. ‘I’d better be going,’ he said and hurried out the door, closing it behind him with a decisive click.

Darcy leaned against the door and tipped her head back with a sigh.

_What the hell just happened?_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Captain America puts on a leggy display while running in Central Park_ **

_Newsday_

Wanda still hadn’t arrived. Darcy wondered what her excuse would be today as she idly scanned the newspaper while awaiting her next customer. There was a brief article on the Avengers press conference a few days ago and Darcy’s interest sharpened but then waned when there were no pictures and no real mention of Steve.

She sighed. It was ridiculous but her stupid brain couldn’t help but conjure up further little daydreams of meeting him again. Daydreams in which she was, of course, both taller and slimmer, not to mention prettier. Not only that, she would have had a complete personality transplant and so be able to dazzle him with her wit and charm.

Given the constant media storm that surrounded him and his fellow Avengers she thought she had the measure of him, but he seemed quite different to his Captain America persona. In reality, he was sweet and a little bit shy, but also swore and had a sly sense of humour, and she thought that she might quite like to get to know the real Steve Rogers. Obviously, she had gleaned all this from two very short meetings and, though she didn’t want to acknowledge it, there was a very real possibility that all she had seen was as much of a pretence as the Captain America act.

Darcy sighed again. All this imagining was fruitless. She wasn’t going to see him again and even if she did, which she wouldn’t, there was absolutely no chance that Steve Rogers would be interested in her. He could have any woman that he wanted, he was hardly going to set his sights on a lonely bookstore owner from Brooklyn.

It was nice to imagine it though, especially the look on Ian’s face when his ex-girlfriend moved on in such a spectacular fashion.

_Sorry, Ian who?_

She was still smiling to herself when the phone rang.

‘Good morning, Brooklyn Books, how can I help you today?’ she said cheerily.

There was a brief pause.

‘Hello? Could I speak to Darcy please?’ a male voice enquired and Darcy’s heart rate sped up.

_It couldn’t be?_

‘This is Darcy, how can I help?’

‘Hi Darcy, it’s Steve, Steve Rogers? We met the other day? Bumped into each other in the street and you let me use your bathroom to clean up?’

Every sentence was a question, as if he wasn’t sure if she would remember him. Rather than every moment of their interaction being etched into her brain for all eternity.

‘Hi Steve,’ Darcy managed to croak. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m good, thanks. You?’

‘Yeah, yeah, good. Slow day at the shop, the usual.’ Steve said nothing and eventually Darcy asked hesitantly, ‘Was there something I can do for you? Did you want to return the book?’

‘No, No. That’s not it at all.’ She heard him take a deep breath. ‘I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the Tower? To Stark Tower? To see me? I could make you coffee?’ he mumbled.

_What?_

‘Oh, um…’ she said eloquently.

Her mind whirled as she tried to make sense of his request. It sounded a lot like he was asking her to have coffee with him, but that couldn’t be right.

‘Sorry, I know it’s a bit weird but I don’t get a lot of privacy when I go out. It’s okay if you don’t want to,’ he said quickly when she didn’t follow up her scintillating first attempt at a response.

Was he insane? Of course she wanted to, it was just her brain was struggling to catch up after such a shock.

‘No, I’d like that, I’d like to. I like coffee. I like you.’

_Oh God, did she really just say that?_

She heard him blow out another breath, like a sigh of relief, which was vaguely inexplicable but she didn’t dwell on it.

‘I have a day off tomorrow?’ she said quickly.

Was that too eager? Should she have said next week and played it cooler? Was it possible to play it cool when Captain America asked you to have coffee with him?

‘Yeah, tomorrow’s good,’ Steve said, enthusiastically enough that she was reassured. ‘Just come to the Tower and let them know at reception. I’ll come down and get you. Maybe about eleven?’

‘Sure, eleven sounds good.’

‘Good, I’ll see you then?’

Was that a smile she heard in his tone?

‘Yes, you will,’ she said stoutly. ‘Good, good.’ She could hear herself wittering but didn’t seem to be able to stop it. Fortunately Steve saying goodbye and hanging up limited her opportunities to humiliate herself further.

Darcy stared in disbelief at the now silent phone in her hand for a long time, until Wanda made her usual chaotic entrance, apologies and exclamations tumbling out of her mouth, forcing Darcy to pull herself together.

* * *

When Darcy arrived at Stark Tower the next morning, she found, to her dismay, that the vast, brightly lit reception area was a heaving mass of humanity and there was an absolutely huge queue to sign in, despite the two receptionists working with impeccable efficiency at the front desk. Darcy joined the back of the line and fidgeted as she slowly approached the desk, glancing at her watch fretfully as eleven o'clock came and went. At ten past eleven she finally reached the head of the queue and smiled nervously at the blonde, immaculately made up, receptionist.

‘Hi,’ she said, but before she could say anything further the woman pointed over her shoulder to a large group milling around by the elevators.

‘The student lab tour is meeting by elevator six,’ the receptionist said dismissively. ‘They running a bit late so you’ll still make it.’

‘Oh no, I…’ Darcy began but a young guy with floppy brown hair behind her cut in before she could finish.

‘We haven’t missed it? Oh, that’s great, I was really worried.’ Before she could even protest he had grabbed hold of Darcy’s sweater and started pulling her along with him. He had surprising strength in those spindly arms. Darcy looked desperately back at the reception desk as she was hurried away, but the long line had already moved forward and the receptionist was dealing with the next person.

‘This is going to be so amazing. I’ve wanted to work here for, like, forever. Do you think we might see Tony Stark? That would be so cool if we did. He’s like my hero. His work with clean energy and the arc reactor is really inspirational. And he’s Iron Man, an Avenger! What’s your major?’ He paused for a breath and then looked at Darcy expectantly.

Darcy blinked. She had thought her outfit was the right mix of effortless and sexy, but obviously it just screamed ‘student’ to everyone else.

‘Um, library science,’ she mumbled, which was true, even if it had been a few years ago.

‘Oh, I guess that’s pretty important round here too,’ he said happily. ‘They must have tons of books with all those scientists and researchers. Mine’s mechanical engineering. Like, I’d seriously like to take a look at Mr Stark’s suit, that would be so interesting. Do you think there’s any chance of that? I doubt it, but it would be so amazing. Sorry, I’m Peter by the way.’

Peter stuck out a hand and Darcy shook it dazedly.

‘Darcy,’ she said. ‘Look, I think…’ she began but then the tour guide called them to order. Peter grinned at her, rubbing his hands together gleefully and turned his attention to the guide. Darcy looked regretfully down at her watch again. It was twenty past eleven now, she was late for Steve and if she got back into the queue for reception she’d be even later. She didn’t want to make a scene but she was pretty sure that Peter would notice if she tried to sneak off and bring it to everyone’s attention. She didn’t even have a way to call Steve and let him know that she was there. Looking glumly at her watch for about the billionth time, she sighed. Steve was going to think she had stood him up. He’d probably think she was horribly rude but she couldn’t seriously see him spending any time crying into his pillow over the loss. He’d probably have a date with a supermodel lined up by this evening and be thanking his lucky stars for a bullet dodged.

She wasn’t really concentrating when she followed the group into the elevator, not listening to a single word the guide said and so it was with a start of guilty surprise that she found herself in the shining, brightly lit laboratories of Stark Industries. She barely listened as she trailed behind the rest of the group and it was only Peter’s small squeak of excitement and the unconscious pinch he gave her arm that startled her out of her reverie.

She followed the direction of his gaze and saw, across the room in another glass-walled lab was Peter’s hero, Tony Stark, deep in conversation with the Winter Soldier. _James Barnes_ , Darcy corrected herself mentally before scanning the room a little wildly. Was Steve here too? But, sadly, her frantic search did not reveal any other tall, handsome national icons.

She let her shoulders sag and tried to concentrate as the tour guide waxed lyrical on the clean energy advances made by Stark Industries over the last few years. 

A hand touched her shoulder and she spun around.

‘I think you may be a little lost, Darcy Lewis.’

Peter gave a strangled little gasp at her side and Darcy couldn’t really blame him.

Natasha Romanoff was a vision of calmly poised, sleek haired perfection that almost made Darcy forget her crush on Steve. She wore a tiny, enigmatic smile and there was a warmth in her eyes that Darcy had not expected. Darcy blushed and looked down at her feet.

‘I was supposed to be seeing Steve but I didn’t know where to find him,’ she blurted out defensively.

Natasha nodded and curled her fingers around Darcy’s arm, drawing her away from the group. When Darcy looked back Peter was watching them go, his jaw pretty much on the floor. Darcy gave him a self-conscious parting wave which he returned in a dazed fashion.

‘Steve’s upstairs, looking a little lost himself,’ Natasha said with a quirk of an eyebrow that Darcy didn’t fully understand.

‘I was on my way, only the woman at the front desk sent me in the wrong direction and I didn’t quite know how to get away without causing a scene, and I couldn’t call because I don’t have his number,’ Darcy babbled in explanation.

Natasha led her into the elevator and then turned to face her. Darcy glanced around quickly, noting that Natasha had not pressed a button, and actually there were no buttons that she could see. Nonetheless, the doors closed smoothly, cutting off Darcy’s view of James Barnes staring intently in their direction, and the elevator moved swiftly upwards.

‘It’s fine, Darcy. He’ll recover soon enough when he realises you’re here.’

There was a faint chime and the doors slid open. Natasha gave Darcy a little encouraging shove and Darcy stepped out of the elevator.

Giving a languid wave Natasha said, ‘Have fun,’ and the doors slid shut, leaving Darcy on her own.

She flexed her hands and took a deep breath. She had met Natasha Romanoff, _the Black Widow,_ hadn’t even had a chance to properly introduce herself, or thank the woman for her help or, indeed, do any fangirling whatsoever.

Actually, that was probably for the best.

She turned and then pivoted fully around as her mouth dropped open. She stood in an enormous open plan living space with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan, low slung leather couches and sleek, expensive furniture. And in the centre, a gleaming marble kitchen and Steve Rogers leaning against the countertop, cup of coffee in one hand, watching her.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said immediately. ‘I got lost and I didn’t know how to find you, and I didn’t think anyone would believe me if I told them I was here to see Captain America. I guess you get loads of hysterical fans trying to blag their way in all the time?’

‘Sometimes,’ Steve acknowledged with a slightly grim expression. ‘Jarvis is pretty good at diverting them back down to the lobby.’

Darcy assumed that Jarvis was a security guard or something like that.

‘Would you like a coffee?’ Steve said politely, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck and inadvertently giving Darcy a beautiful view of his tensed bicep in the rather tight grey t-shirt he wore. It took her a second to realise he had asked a question and she stared at him dumbly for a moment before nodding her head rather too emphatically. She was being an idiot but in her defence Steve Rogers was standing in front of her, smiling at her, and until his phone call she was reasonably sure she never going to see him again, so yes, it was taking her brain a little time to catch up.

She gave herself a shake and moved forward as he busied himself pouring a large cup of, by the incredible aroma, freshly brewed coffee. He nudged it towards her, along with a small jug of milk and a pot of sugar. Darcy added a splash of milk and took a sip. The coffee tasted amazing and she couldn’t help the appreciative moan that slipped from her lips. When she looked up Steve was regarding her steadily. She held his gaze for a moment but then looked away and sipped her coffee again to tear herself away from his unnerving stare.

‘I’m sorry that you got lost,’ he said, fiddling with his cup. ‘I didn’t realise that there was so much going on today, that there would be so many people around.’

‘It’s okay,’ she said with a flippant wave of her hand. ‘If nothing else I learned a few things about Stark Industries and their work that I didn’t know before.’ Steve smiled at her and then his face fell into a more pensive expression.

‘It was just,’ he began and then faltered. If Darcy didn’t know better she would have said he was nervous. He took a deep breath. ‘I just wanted to apologise for the other day.’

Darcy looked at him blankly. ‘Apologise?’

‘If I came on a bit strong. The kiss thing?’ He mimed lifting her hand to his lips. ‘I don’t know why I did it and I just wanted to make sure that you were fine about it?’

_Oh._

‘Of course,’ she said with airy composure that she didn’t know she possessed. ‘Obviously it’s fine. Don’t even think about it.’

‘Okay, good. Thank you.’

‘I think your 1940s is showing if you think that was coming on strong,’ she said with a strained smile, quashing her disappointment.

_Don’t be stupid Darcy, Captain America was obviously not hitting on you. He was just being polite and gentlemanly._

He looked bashfully down at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck again.

‘Yeah, it’s a bit of learning curve.’

‘I bet.’

‘Listen, um…I was…’

The swish of the elevator doors opening caused them both to look over as Tony Stark himself stepped out.

‘Cap,’ he said with a sly grin. ‘A little bird, well Jarvis obviously, told me that you have a _girl_ in your room, so I just came up to, firstly, see this for myself, and secondly, to remind you to keep your door open by at least six inches. I don’t want any shenanigans going on under my roof.'

'This is the communal area,' Steve muttered pointedly. He was definitely blushing now and if looks could kill then Darcy was reasonably certain that Stark would have spontaneously combusted. 

'Semantics,' Stark responded with a dismissive gesture. 

‘Tony,’ Steve said in long suffering tones, ‘Could you please not.’

‘Please not what?’ Tony asked, all innocent enquiry.

‘Be you, just for a minute.’

Tony ignored him and turned his attention to Darcy, holding out a hand which she hesitantly took.

‘Lovely to meet you, I’m Tony.’

‘Darcy,’ she said with a gulp.

Iron Man was introducing himself to her! Could life get any weirder at this point?

‘How do you know Cap?’ Tony said, raising a brow and releasing her hand, which Darcy realised still lay limply in his.

‘I don’t really,’ she instantly denied. ‘I sold him a book the other day and then threw a Slushy over him.’ She wasn’t quite sure why she had said that, although it was the truth, and immediately regretted it when Tony looked her up and down and smirked at Steve.

‘Did Cap get a bit handsy, did you have to put him in his place?’

‘ _Tony!’_ Steve said urgently through firmly gritted teeth, his jaw muscle clenching visibly.

‘God no, nothing like that! I bumped into him, on the street.’

‘And he invited you here, to what, give you the cleaning bill?’ Tony said with a disapproving frown in Steve’s direction. 

Darcy blinked.

‘Um, no.’ She paused. ‘At least I don’t think so?’

‘No!’ Steve’s tone was bordering on despairing. ‘That’s not it at all. Tony, can you just leave us alone?’

Tony clearly knew that he had outstayed his welcome and gave Darcy a wink.

‘Sure thing, Cap. I was just being polite but if you want me to go, then I will.’

The elevator doors opened as he approached and he stepped inside. Steve huffed a sigh of relief and then Tony’s head appeared again.

‘Be safe, kids, and don’t forget to use condoms,’ he said as a parting shot.

Darcy couldn’t help the snort she let out at the sight of Steve Rogers burying his very red face in his hands and muttering, ‘Jesus Christ!’

It took him a minute or so to regain his composure but when he did his gaze was so intent that it was Darcy’s turn to blush.

‘Sorry about Tony, he’s just…well, Tony,’ Steve said.

‘He’s kind of…a lot. This is surreal,’ she said, motioning towards Steve. ‘Seeing you again, meeting Tony Stark. Surreal but nice.’ She cringed inwardly when she realised what she had said.

_Surreal but nice! Jesus, Darcy!_

Steve looked amused.

‘Surreal but nice,’ he murmured, but Darcy was relieved to see that he didn’t look offended. He picked up his coffee cup again and surveyed her over the rim. She couldn’t read his expression, it was sort of searching and hesitant. ‘Listen, I…’ he began.

‘Steve?’

The voice floated down the corridor and Steve actually groaned, pinching his brow with an exasperated expression.

James Barnes was much less intimidating dressed in jeans and a soft looking black t-shirt that hugged his form, when compared to his leather ‘Winter Soldier’ body armour, but Darcy still caught her breath as he padded towards them, his metal arm glinting dully in the overhead lights. Then he smiled, a slow, charming grin that, had Darcy not already been on the receiving end of one of Steve’s shy, sweet smiles, would have had her heart racing. As it was her heart rate did pick up a bit but she was only human after all.

‘Hello,’ Barnes said as he moved towards her. He glanced at Steve. ‘Who’s this?’

Darcy just caught the fleeting glare that Steve cast in his friend’s direction and the infinitesimal shrug with which Barnes responded. Steve sighed again, it seemed that his friends were really testing his patience today.

‘Bucky, this is Darcy,’ he said. ‘Darcy, this is Bucky Barnes.’

Meeting Tony earlier had somehow given Darcy a little more confidence and so she held out a hand which Bucky grasped with alacrity.

‘Darcy’s the one I was telling you about,’ Steve said, and there was something in his tone and the steady gaze he fixed on his friend that Darcy couldn’t quite fathom, but she was distracted by the revelation that Steve had told Bucky about her. What exactly had he said?

Bucky gave her hand a gentle squeeze and then released it. ‘Oh yeah, Darcy, from the bookshop, right?’ he said. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you. All good, of course.’

He winked at her and behind her she heard Steve mutter plaintively, ‘Buck, please.’

‘You gonna pour me a coffee, punk?’ Bucky said without looking at him.

‘Jerk,’ Steve said under his breath but Darcy noticed that he was already opening one of the kitchen cupboards in search of a mug.

‘So, is the bookshop yours or do you just work there?’ Bucky asked Darcy.

‘It’s mine,’ Darcy said with a certain amount of pride in her tone. ‘My aunt set it up in the Seventies and when she retired I bought her out. I used to spend my summers with her being used as low-cost child labour but to be honest, I loved it.’

‘It’s a nice area too, Brooklyn. Steve and I grew up there, though it’s a lot classier now than it was back then,’ Bucky said with a wistful smile.

‘I think they call it gentrification. But it really just means that Manhattan got so overpriced that everyone had to move to Brooklyn and set up juice bars and hot yoga studios so they could feel at home,’ Darcy grinned.

‘Hot yoga? I haven’t tried that one yet.’

‘I wouldn’t, unless you really enjoy attempting to hold poses while trying not to slip in a pool of your own sweat,’ Darcy said with feeling. She’d got a coupon, otherwise she probably would never have bothered trying it. As it was, once was enough. 

Bucky chuckled and then Steve was there handing him a steaming cup of coffee with a pointed look.

‘There you go, Buck. Didn’t you have that thing you had to do?’

Bucky’s expression was disarmingly innocent, but as Darcy looked between the two men she could see that Steve wasn’t fooled for a second, and eventually Bucky grinned and nodded.

‘Yeah, I’ve got that thing,’ he agreed cheerfully. He patted Darcy on the arm. ‘It was good to meet you Darcy. Hopefully I’ll see you again soon.’

‘Um, thanks. It was nice to meet you too,’ she said, giving him an awkward wave as he wandered away, coffee cup in hand.

She turned back to Steve to find him regarding her, almost anxiously.

‘So, this just keeps getting weirder. Do I get the whole Avengers line up?’ she said.

‘God, I hope not. You’d think that spies and ex-assassins would have a bit more subtlety,’ Steve muttered. ‘Look before there are any more interruptions, I just wondered if you might…want to have dinner with me tonight?’

‘I’d like that,’ Darcy said with embarrassing eagerness, but it was worth it for the wide smile that Steve gave her. A smile that quickly dropped when Darcy smacked her hand against her forehead and swore. ‘Oh no, I can’t! I’m sorry, it’s my friend Scott’s birthday party tonight. It’s just dinner but I can’t miss it.’

‘It’s fine,’ Steve said.

‘Maybe another night? Or I could try to duck out early or something?’

‘I was going to say that, if you wanted, I could come with you?’

‘Come with me?’ Darcy said, dumbfounded. ‘Like as my date?’

‘Yeah, if you liked,’ Steve said, looking uneasy. ‘But only if you wanted. I understand if it’s a friends only thing. We can have dinner another time.’

‘Are you kidding me? Of course I want you to come. My friends are going to shit bricks when I turn up with you,’ Darcy said gleefully, before catching Steve’s visible wince at her phrasing. ‘God, sorry that sounded dreadful, but I’d really like to have dinner with you, whether or not I get to one up my friends.’

The small amount of tension in Steve’s shoulders dissolved and he smiled. ‘That’s great,’ he said. ‘What time should I pick you up?’


	3. Chapter 3

**_The Avengers – Marvellous or a Menace?_ **

_The Wall Street Journal_

Darcy was trying to suppress her nervous energy but it was kind of hard when Steve Rogers – _Steve Rogers!_ – was walking beside her. He was talking and she was sort of listening, but inwardly she was squealing like a five year old, and also berating herself for being such an idiot. She hadn’t actually told any of her friends who she was bringing to the dinner party and now she was regretting her impetuousness. They definitely couldn’t be trusted not to horribly embarrass her, although at least giving them no warning meant they wouldn’t have any time to tailor her humiliation, they’d just have to wing it. They would still excel at embarrassing her, of that she had no doubt.

She turned to Steve on the doorstep of Clint and Laura’s house and noticed he looked almost as nervous as she felt.

‘Hey,’ she said, catching his hand. ‘It’ll be fine, they’re nice people, I promise.’

‘Sorry, it’s just been a long time since I’ve done anything, well, normal. Tony’s parties tend towards the outrageously extravagant and I generally duck out at the earliest possible opportunity.’

‘This is about as normal as it gets,’ Darcy said ruefully. ‘You’ll probably be bored to be honest.’ Steve shook his head in denial as she was speaking but she continued anyway. ‘And if you want to duck out, that’s okay. Just let me know.’

‘Darcy, I’m sure it will be fine and I won’t try to duck out early from this.’

‘Okay, well the offer’s there. You ready?’

At Steve’s nod she rang the bell, the sound shrill inside the house. The door was suddenly flung open by Laura who barely glanced at them before turning away and hurrying back into the kitchen.

‘Hi, hi, sorry, minor cooking emergency,’ she called back to them. ‘Clint only had one job and he’s completely fucked it up!’

Darcy exchanged a look with Steve and shrugged before following Laura into the house.

Clint was standing over the grill, flapping an oven glove rather frantically over some distinctly charred slices of bread, while Laura was hurriedly slicing more from a fresh loaf which she then thrust at Clint. Dusting off her hands she turned back to Darcy and Steve and gave them both a warm smile.

‘Sorry about that,’ she said, reaching out a hand to Steve. ‘It’s really lovely to…’ She paused and frowned. ‘Do you know you’re the absolute spit of…?’

‘Laura, this is Steve,’ Darcy cut in. ‘Steve Rogers.’

‘Oh, _oh!’_ Laura said, eyes widening. She shook his hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Steve.’

Clint turned at that point and held out a hand to Steve. As his eyes travelled to Steve’s face Darcy saw recognition gleam. He shook Steve’s hand and then signed, _Good to meet you Steve._

Without a blink Steve responded with a series of confident gestures, _Thank you for inviting me._

Darcy let out a snort at the ludicrous way Clint’s face fell.

 _Stop being a dick and turn your hearing aid on,_ she signed, cuffing Clint across the back of the head. Clint shrugged unrepentantly.

 _It’s on, I was just testing,_ he signed back with a sly grin.

‘Well, don’t,’ Darcy responded.

‘If it’s any consolation, he passed with flying colours,’ Clint said, giving Steve a conspiratorial smile. ‘Would you like a drink, Steve?’

‘I was deaf in one ear when I was younger,’ Steve said with a faintly apologetic shrug. ‘A beer would be good.’

Clint took a beer from the fridge, uncapped it and passed it to Steve, who took it with a nod of thanks. The bell rang shrilly, announcing another visitor. Clint went to get it and Darcy heard Scott’s garbled greeting.

Scott bounced into the kitchen, followed by a grinning Clint, and shuddered to a stop.

‘Oh. Holy. Fuck!’ he exclaimed, staring at Steve, eyes wide and mouth open. Darcy inwardly groaned. Steve glanced at her uncertainly and then sent a slightly strained smile Scott’s way.

‘Scott, this is Steve,’ Darcy said carefully.

‘Oh my god,’ Scott breathed. ‘Oh my god. You’re Captain America? Oh wow, this is amazing. I’m such a big fan. God, I want to be cool but I’m already failing,’ he stuttered out, shaking Steve’s hand absently and for far too long. He looked around at his friends, a dazed expression on his face. ‘It’s Captain America.’

They all nodded in agreement, Clint and Laura suppressing identical smiles and Darcy wincing at her friend’s mortifying behaviour.

‘Oh man, this is seriously…I think you’re the coolest of all the Avengers and I’ve always thought that we could be really good friends if we ever met. Do you need a sidekick?’ Scott laughed and then his eyes lit up with sudden enthusiasm. ‘ _Do_ you need a sidekick? I could be your sidekick, hold your shield when you’re not using it, bring you orange slices to keep your energy levels up, stuff like that?’ He looked at Steve expectantly.

‘Um…that sounds good,’ Steve said after a momentary pause. ‘I like orange slices.’

Scott beamed at him and yet his smile somehow managed to widen when Steve fished in his pocket and pulled out a small, carefully wrapped package.

‘Happy birthday,’ Steve said as he handed it over. Scott stared at the present in his hand in awe.

‘You bought me a present? See, now we’re definitely best friends!’

The doorbell rang again and Clint left the room. Darcy gave Steve’s hand a quick squeeze and he shot her a swift, grateful smile. When Clint returned he had Jane in tow, the latter lamenting the rather explosive failure of her latest experiment. She briskly shook Steve’s hand when Darcy introduced him. Darcy had to smile as Jane gave not a flicker of recognition before she was hugging Scott, wishing him a happy birthday as she handed over a crumpled, badly wrapped present, accompanied by a ludicrous number of apologies and disclaimers. She appreciatively seized the glass of wine Clint handed her and took a swig, digging a hand into a bowl of cashew nuts on the countertop. An expectant silence descended on the room and Jane looked around in confusion, cashew nut halfway to her mouth.

‘What?’ she said.

Laura pressed her lips together to repress a smile and turned back towards the oven. Clint shook his head and offered Darcy a refill which she accepted gratefully as she watched Jane move towards Steve.

‘So, Steve, what do you do?’ Jane said, as Darcy marvelled at her obliviousness. Seriously, did she never think about anything but work?

Steve looked a little taken aback but answered readily enough. ‘I was in the army but now I work for the government.’

‘Oh right, like a civil servant?’ Jane said, popping a cashew nut in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

‘More sort of defence and security,’ Steve answered diffidently. He caught Darcy’s eye over Jane’s shoulder and Darcy couldn’t help but smirk at him.

‘Enough said, I get it. I bet it’s all pretty hush hush. Classified, ‘if you told me you’d have to kill me’ sort of stuff? Say no more,’ Jane said, tapping her nose slyly with one finger before asking Scott how his daughter was. Scott had been staring at the two of them with an expression of unholy glee on his face but he managed to shake himself out of his reverie to answer Jane’s question.

Steve took the opportunity to catch Clint’s attention and ask where the bathroom was and as soon as he left the room all but Jane rounded on Darcy.

‘Right, talk. How is Steve Rogers your date for this evening?’ Laura whispered urgently.

‘Steve Rogers?’ Jane squeaked. ‘As in Captain America?’ The rest of them nodded and Darcy rolled her eyes as Jane buried her face in her hands muttering, ‘Oh God!’

‘What did you say?’ Laura asked with a laugh that set all of them off into breathless excited giggles that they tried and failed to stifle. Jane just groaned and shook her head.

‘Seriously, how the hell did you meet Steve Rogers?’ Clint hissed.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Darcy looked around. ‘He came into the shop and bought a book,’ she said like it was no big deal. It was a big deal and she could tell that Laura at least was not in the slightest bit fooled by her casual attitude.

‘God, I can’t believe this!’ Scott squealed under his breath and the giggling started again, only to be quickly hushed by the sound of Steve descending the stairs.

As each of the dinner courses was served and the talk and laughter continued, Darcy watched the tension drain out of Steve. He was currently engaged in a lively discussion with Scott over the Dodgers move to California, in between bites of gooey chocolate brownie, and each time he smiled and the creases around his eyes deepened she felt her stomach give a little flip. She looked away to find Laura regarding her intently, a smug little smile on her face. Darcy grimaced at her and took a slug of her wine.

There was a lull in conversation and Laura winked at Steve across the table.

‘You being here, Steve, firmly establishes what I’ve long suspected, that we really are the most desperate bunch of underachievers,’ she said in a confiding but very audible tone. 

The rest of the group fell silent and then began spluttering outraged disclaimers.

‘I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,’ Laura said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. ‘In fact, I think it’s something we should take pride in, something to celebrate.’ She brandished the plate containing the last solitary brownie around the table and grinned. ‘So,’ she continued, ‘I’m going to give the last brownie as a prize to the biggest loser here.’

There was a pause and then some barely stifled sniggering as all eyes swivelled to Jane.

‘Yes, yes, it’s me obviously,’ she admitted glumly. ‘I can’t get funding for my work because no-one will take my research seriously, though maybe not without reason given that most of my experiments end with explosions. I live in an RV that even the cockroaches have decided isn’t up to their standards. I haven’t had a boyfriend since…well ever really, and I don’t think I’ve showered since last Tuesday,’ she said to general laughter around the table.

Eyes twinkling, Laura nodded and then narrowed her eyes at Scott. ‘But, Jane is, in fact, a genius, while Scott here is…’ She let the sentence drift away and Scott freely took it up.

‘I know, I know, I’m hardly what you’d call the sharpest tool in the box,’ he said with a pout. ‘I think my prison record speaks for itself. I’m a terrible father, although I try really hard, and my ex-wife hates my guts. So yeah, the brownie is definitely mine.’

Clint butted in, wagging a finger at Scott. ‘Ah, but you’ve forgotten, you are best friends with Steve Rogers.’

‘It’s true, what can I say, the guy needs me,’ Scott agreed with a grin, catching Steve’s eye. Steve laughed and then shrugged a little self-consciously.

‘Whereas I still haven’t got my hearing back, and the doctors told me the other day that it’s unlikely that I ever will. I suck at archery even though I’ve be doing it for months now,’ Clint said.

‘ _R_ _eally_ sucks,’ Laura agreed under her breath.

‘And it looks like there were other unforeseen consequences from the accident because, well, the truth is…we can’t have a baby,’ Clint concluded sombrely. 

A sudden silence greeted his announcement and Darcy’s face crumpled in sympathy.

‘Guys, I’m so sorry,’ she said helplessly.

Laura reached out a hand to her husband and he took it, clasping it fiercely, as they exchanged a long look. Clint let out a heavy sigh.

‘Still, we’re really lucky in loads of other ways. But I think that deserves the last brownie, don’t you?’

There was a flurry of nodding around the table but then Laura held up a hand as he began to reach for the treat.

‘I don’t know Clint,’ she said with a mischievous grin. ‘What about Darcy? I mean, she’s very unsuccessful professionally. She used to be a knockout but she’s got kind of scruffy the last couple of years.’

Darcy’s brows pulled together and then rose up in a wry expression as she glanced down at her slightly rumpled blouse. She shrugged. ‘That’s sort of a consequence of the failing business thing.’

Laura’s grin turned positively gleeful. ‘And she is almost certainly never going to hear from Steve again when he finds out about her school girl mania for...’

‘No, no, no…’ Darcy tried to interrupt but to no avail.

‘The Howling Commandos!’ her traitorous friends chorused. Darcy glared around the table, face pink and eyes studiously averted from Steve, while the rest of the group screamed with laughter. She was only surprised it had taken them this long, she had known they would do this.

‘Those disgusting French cigarettes she used to smoke, because they were Dernier’s favourite brand,’ Scott said breathlessly.

‘She thought she looked cool. She did not and they absolutely stank,’ Clint explained helpfully to Steve.

‘ _Really_ stank. Denier was her favourite. She had a picture of him on her wall that she used to kiss every night before bed,’ Jane said, twinkling merrily at Darcy’s embarrassment.

‘Dernier, eh?’ Steve said, raising a quizzical brow at Darcy, amusement in his eyes.

‘I hate you guys! I was fifteen years old,’ she said plaintively. ‘And he made smoking look cool, I will die on that hill. Now give me my brownie!’ She made grabby hands at the plate at Laura’s side.

‘Hey, what about me?’ Steve said.

A stunned silence met his question, except for Scott who choked on his beer.

‘You think _you_ deserve the last brownie?’ Laura said incredulously.

‘Well, a shot at it, at least,’ Steve retorted with a shrug.

‘This is a really good brownie,’ Darcy said. ‘You can’t half-ass this, I’m prepared to fight you for it.’ Steve raised an eyebrow at her. ‘For the brownie, I could take you,’ she muttered. 

Laura leaned back in her chair, folding her arms challengingly across her chest. ‘Okay, Captain America, give it your best shot.’

Steve looked a little self-conscious at the sudden realisation that all eyes were on him. He hunched his shoulders a little but then said hesitantly, ‘I was pretty seriously ill for most of my life.’

‘Yeah, until you got that super soldier serum and turned into a total beefcake,’ Scott said, somewhat dreamily, before blinking and swiftly clearing his throat. Steve’s lips twitched and Darcy suppressed a smile as he continued. ‘I got frozen in ice and slept for seventy years.’

They all looked pretty unimpressed and Jane muttered, ‘A seventy year nap doesn’t sound so bad,’ and then yawned expansively. 

‘When I woke up everyone I knew was dead.’ Darcy had to admit that really sucked. Steve paused, frowning. ‘I don’t really have any kind of life outside of the Avengers, and it’s difficult to make new friends because no-one is really interested in getting to know Steve Rogers, only Captain America,’ he concluded sadly. Darcy caught his eye when he looked up and she saw him flush under her gaze.

There was short, awkward pause and then Laura broke the tension with a laugh. ‘Yeah, but you have that pretty face, super strength, and your every whim is fulfilled by the bottomless pockets of Tony Stark, so nice try, Steve, but you don’t fool any of us!’

Everyone started laughing and Darcy snagged the last brownie with a grin at him. The brief look of melancholy vanished from his eyes as he joined in the laughter.

He shrugged. ‘Worth a try.’

* * *

The squeals and giggling began almost as soon as Darcy’s feet hit the pavement and she involuntarily glanced back up the stairs at the now closed front door of Clint and Laura’s townhouse. She caught Steve’s quizzical expression.

‘They always do that when I leave the house. I’m kind of a big deal around here, in case you hadn’t noticed,’ she said with a twitch of her shoulders, aiming for nonchalant before settling on an embarrassed grimace.

Steve just grinned and fell in step beside her.

‘I like your friends.’

‘Funnily enough, me too.’

‘Did an accident cause Clint's deafness?’ he asked carefully after a pause.

Darcy nodded. ‘Yeah, about eighteen months ago, five car pile-up on the freeway. He had massive head trauma and it was touch and go for a while, so I guess we should be happy that it was just his hearing he lost. But I think we all really hoped it would get better for him.’

‘He seems to be dealing with it really well,’ Steve ventured.

‘That’s Clint, he’s a glass half full kind of guy but even he gets down sometimes.’ She frowned. ‘I guess tonight was one of those times he lets it show.’

‘The baby thing?’

‘I didn’t know they’d been trying,’ she admitted. ‘And I don’t think they were before the accident so I don’t know if the two are related.’

‘That’s hard,’ Steve said with a sigh.

‘Yeah,’ Darcy agreed quietly.

They walked in companionable silence for another block before Steve said, ‘So, Dernier was your favourite?’

Darcy brought her head up sharply and found Steve regarding her with a teasing smile.

‘Oh don’t you start!’ she immediately whined. ‘French seemed kind of exotic to fifteen year old me, and he was suave and dashing. It was a very innocent love.’ She scrunched up her face. ‘Mostly.’

‘He was suave,’ Steve acknowledged, a wistful, reminiscent smile tugging at his lips. ‘I swear he had an accommodating widow in every town we quartered in, the boys couldn’t work out how he found them but he always did.’

‘Oh no,’ Darcy said, putting her hands over her ears. ‘Don’t ruin the girlish daydreams of my childhood, I don’t want to hear about his lothario ways.’

‘Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll stop,’ Steve said, putting out his hand in a placating gesture. Glaring at him suspiciously, Darcy slowly slid her hands away from her ears and stuffed them back in her jacket pockets. She held her outraged expression for as long as possible before leaning towards him and giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow.

‘Okay, I’ll bite. I’m kind of interested now to know more,’ she said.

Steve laughed and then he told her.

By the time they were passing the Brooklyn Zoo Darcy found that she had laughed, smiled, and exclaimed excitedly more than she could ever remember doing on any previous dates. Steve was sweet, and he was funny, and he was down to earth. He also had really large, strong hands, one of which was currently clasped around Darcy’s slightly clammy one, although he was far too much the gentleman to comment on that fact.

She liked him, a lot.

Steve stopped and glanced up at the high, wrought iron fence that marked the boundary of the zoo.

‘Man, I remember when they first built this,’ he said. ‘Me and Bucky didn’t have much money so we snuck in after hours to have a look round.’

‘You broke into the zoo?’ Darcy said in amused surprise.

Looking down sheepishly, Steve scuffed a toe in the dirt. ‘That makes it sound worse than it was. We just jumped the fence and had a little look. Didn’t do any harm.’

‘Steve Rogers isn’t quite as squeaky clean as the history books make out, is he?’

‘No, _Steve Rogers_ isn’t.’ The corner of his mouth twitched into a little half smile.

‘He’s kind of rebellious, not very good at following orders if you read between the lines.’

Steve laughed. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever been called a rebel before.’

‘I’m sure _Captain America_ hasn’t.’

He shot her a sly grin and tilted his head towards the fence. ‘So, do you want to sneak into the zoo with me?’

Darcy grinned and then eyed the high fence sceptically. ‘Much as I’d love to, there no chance of me getting over that, so unless you’re going to give me a piggyback…’

‘I’m game if you are?’ Steve said with a glint in his eye and Darcy felt her cheeks flush. It sounded like a dare and she could never back away from a dare but the idea of such close proximity to Steve, his hands on her, her hands on him.

Man, was it suddenly hot in here?

Steve moved towards her, tugging his hood up with one hand and then reaching out and pulling hers over her head.

‘There’s probably a few more security cameras now than there were in 1935,’ he said with a soft smile, hands stilled on her collar. Darcy looked up at him. He was awfully close, she could almost feel the heat of his body and it really wasn’t helping her maintain her composure.

‘Uh huh,’ she gulped.

‘If you don’t want to, we don’t have to,’ Steve said suddenly, clearly mistaking the reason for her reticence.

‘Nah, let’s do this, but…’ She held up a finger and lightly jabbed him in the ribs. ‘I fully expect you to use all your Captain America wiles to talk us out of trouble if we get caught.’

‘Not sure I’ve got any wiles,’ he said crinkling his nose at her. ‘But I’ll take full responsibility if we get caught.’ He turned around and bent his knees. ‘Jump up.’

Taking a deep breath, Darcy did as she was bid. Steve caught her behind the knees and hefted her easily up onto his back so her legs were wrapped securely around his trim waist. He pulled her hands, placed tentatively on his shoulders, and looped them around his neck, settling them against his chest. Darcy thought she might start hyperventilating. He was so warm, his hands were clasped loosely round her thighs and the chest beneath her hands was firm and muscular. The gutter that was her imagination immediately conjured up a few more scenarios in which his hands were on her but he was wearing significantly less clothing. She shook her head and pressed her cheek against the top of his shoulder.

‘Hang on tight, spider monkey,’ Steve said with a sly grin over his shoulder. Darcy snorted.

‘I can’t quite work out if it’s worse if you came up with that on your own or if someone told you to watch Twilight?’

‘That’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.’

‘But _Steve_ , it’s sooo romantic,’ she said in a dreamy voice.

‘Someone watching you sleep isn’t romantic, it’s creepy as hell,’ Steve said in such an emphatic tone that Darcy wanted to question him further, but he was already reaching for the fence and with a quick glance around he pulled himself and Darcy up and over the top, dropping down on the other side with barely a grunt of exertion. It was pretty amazing and it was only when his hands clasped around her balled up fists that she realised she was still clinging to his back and she slid down to the ground, subduing her disappointment that she no longer had any excuse to plaster herself to him.

Steve, however, seemed to also have liked the close contact as he took her hand and drew her into the shadows.

‘Come on,’ he whispered, ‘Let’s go see if the otters are awake.’

They were not, as it turned out, but Darcy was content to wander along the outdoor trail, pressed against Steve’s side, hands entwined, talking in whispers and giggling like school children. It was lovely and she had almost forgotten that they were doing something illicit until Steve suddenly raised his head and glanced back with a frown.

‘What is it?’ Darcy asked.

‘I think there’s someone coming,’ Steve said. ‘Time to go.’ And with that he took off briskly down the trail, tugging Darcy along behind him. Darcy’s heart was racing but every time she looked back she couldn’t see or hear anyone. When they reached the perimeter fence again she needed no prompting to jump on Steve’s back and they were up and over before she could even blink. He didn’t put her down until they were quite a distance from the zoo and again she, rather regretfully, slid down off his back.

‘Did that bring back enough memories of sneaking around as a kid doing naughty things to satisfy you, because I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I’ve got the nerves for a life of crime,’ Darcy said as Steve turned to face her, his eyes sparkling under the streetlights.

‘There’s a couple of other naughty things I’d like to do that would probably satisfy me a whole lot more,’ Steve said, drawing her closer.

Darcy almost swallowed her tongue. Did he mean…? Was that…?

‘Yeah?’ Her voice was husky. ‘Like what?’

‘Well,’ he started, looking suddenly shy, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. ‘I’d really like to kiss you right now.’

‘You would?’ she squeaked.

‘Yeah, I would. What do you think?’ he said taking her other hand in his.

‘I think I’d like that,’ Darcy whispered leaning into him.

The first brush of his lips was feather light, almost disappointing in its fleetingness. She grabbed a handful of his shirt and planted her lips more firmly on his. His appreciative hum was muffled by the press of her lips and his arm slid around her waist and pulled her against him. He ran his tongue across the seam of her lips and she parted them willingly. The feel of his mouth on hers gave her a delicious thrill and she ran her hand over his shoulder, sliding her hand through the soft hair she found at the nape of his neck.

Steve Rogers could kiss.

The insistent press of his lips and the smooth slide of his tongue sent a bolt of desire through her. She wanted him and from the way his hands were gripping her hips, she was under the impression that he wanted her too. It was a heady feeling, that this man, who she had only ever expected to admire from afar, was kissing her with such hunger.

A shrill whistle cut the air and someone yelled, ‘Get a room!’

Darcy pulled away from Steve with a gasp as a group of teenagers came hurtling past on bikes, whistling and heckling. She buried her hot face in Steve’s collar bone. He stroked her hair and she could feel the tremors that ran through him as he chuckled and then kissed the top of her head.

‘Come on,’ he said, pulling away but ensnaring one of her hands. ‘I should get you home.’

‘Yes,’ she agreed, slightly dazed.

‘Could I take you out on Saturday?’

‘Yes.’

‘Yes?’

She wondered if, again, she had been too eager but she didn’t want to play games with him.

‘I have to open the shop, but I’m free in the evening.’

‘That’s good,’ he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders and tucking her close. Darcy ducked her head against him and breathed in the warm, intoxicating scent of the man beside her. At the very least, this evening would rate as one of the best of her life, and they already had a second date planned. She couldn’t help the slow, exultant smile that spread across her face. 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Spotted – Captain America packs on the PDA with mystery brunette_**.

_New York Post_

Bruce looked up from his work, blinking slowly, his hair rumpled like he’d just got out of bed, as Darcy rushed into their shared living room.

‘Have you seen my glasses?’ she said frantically, digging under the mountain of paperwork that was strewn across the desk.

‘Er, no sorry,’ he said slowly. He blinked at her again. ‘Do you have a date? You’ve got lipstick on.’

Nodding, she continued to scrabble around the room, swearing under her breath.

‘I’ve got a date later too,’ Bruce announced absently. Darcy stopped in her tracks and stared at him.

‘You’ve got a date?’

‘Yes, one of the scientists from work,’ he stated. He dropped his eyes and then said awkwardly, ‘He was kind of insistent.’

‘When is it?’ Darcy said, trying to hide her disbelief behind a mask of casual interest. Bruce never went on dates. Not because of any lack of interest from either men or women, but just his total obliviousness to any kind of pick up line. Someone could lick his face and he would still assume that they were just _really_ interested in discussing his latest journal article. To be fair, they often were, as despite his oblivious air and scruffy appearance Bruce really was an expert in his field.

Glancing at his watch, Bruce grimaced. ‘In about half an hour.’

Darcy suppressed a smile at his apparent lack of enthusiasm. ‘Is that what you’re wearing?’ she said.

What he was wearing was a worn pair of jeans and a crumpled navy T-shirt that declared, ‘Physicists do it at the speed of light.’

‘Oh, um, yeah, I guess,’ Bruce said, brushing a hand distractedly down his front. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

‘Nothing at all,’ Darcy said brightly, smothering another smile. Hopefully his date would be well aware of Bruce’s quirks and not be put off by his T-shirt choice. She really didn’t have time to explain to him why proclaiming yourself to be quick off the mark in bed probably wasn’t the best idea. It would just lead to many awkward questions as Bruce struggled to comprehend human relationships. ‘Well, have a good time.’

‘You too,’ Bruce said, standing up. ‘Hey, are these your glasses?’ He bent down and pulled the aforementioned glasses from between the sofa cushions. They were only a little bit bent when he handed them to Darcy.

‘Amazing, you’re a life saver,’ Darcy said, ignoring the fact that he had been sat on them all along. She gave him one last wave but he was leaning over his notebook studying one of his equations with a sharp frown on his face and didn’t respond.

The cinema Steve had picked for their second date was a charming relic of a place with black quartz pillars, cosy red velvet loveseats and waitress service, that showed a plethora of old movies. It was over in Manhattan but Darcy had politely declined Steve’s offer of a car to pick her up and taken the subway instead.

When they emerged from the movie, awash with the heady aura of old-school romance into the busy city streets Steve had tucked Darcy’s hand into the crook of his elbow and guided her down a side street to the restaurant where he had made reservations.

It was a small, bustling Italian, and the nook they were seated in was private enough that they didn’t have to worry about the stares of the other diners. Darcy picked up her menu, peeked quickly at Steve, and then began to peruse her choices. She opened her mouth to ask Steve if he could recommend anything but before she could speak it became very clear to her that it wasn’t the _stares_ of the other diners they should have been worrying about.

‘So, ladies, which Avenger do you reckon is the best in bed?’ a voice said with alarming clarity from the table hidden from view around the corner. A burst of high pitched giggles and the clinking of glasses followed the question.

Darcy shut her mouth very quickly and caught Steve’s eye. His lips twitched slightly in amusement.

‘Obviously, Captain America,’ another voice said dreamily. Darcy lifted an eyebrow at Steve. He shrugged, but then his eyes widened comically when Dreamy continued, ‘He’s definitely got a massive cock.’

Smothering a giggle, Darcy tilted her head quizzically at Steve and he mouthed, ‘No comment,’ a flush visible on his cheekbones.

‘That’s true,’ someone else chimed in. ‘That suit leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, the guy is packing.’

‘Nah, they’re all a bunch of ‘roided up gym bunnies, I bet they’ve all got dicks the size of peanuts! He probably just stuffing socks down there,’ one woman said scornfully and Darcy quickly decided she didn’t like her at all.

‘It’s definitely not socks!’ Dreamy said in an affronted tone.

Darcy caught Steve looking a little bit smug at that confident pronouncement, and then he blushed even harder when he saw Darcy looking over.

‘The problem is Captain America’s so vanilla, he’s hardly going to put you over his knee and spank you for being a naughty girl, is he?’

‘Definitely, no comment!’ Steve said, audibly that time. Darcy grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him. He gave her a stern look but she just waggled her eyebrows harder until he laughed.

‘My money’s on Iron Man for all that kinky shit, bet that suit of his has all kinds of attachments!’

There were hoots and shrieks of laughter following that pronouncement, that only got louder as one of the women proceeded to describe a lurid fantasy involving the Winter Soldier, his metal arm, and what, Darcy sincerely hoped, was about a gallon of lube. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter when she looked up at Steve to find his eyebrows had taken up residence in his hairline.

‘Do you think he’d be into that?’ she whispered to Steve.

‘How would I know?’ he hissed back. ‘God, I hope not. My eyes are watering at the thought!’

The giggles that Darcy had been trying valiantly to hold back forced their way out and she clutched her chest as she laughed. Steve had buried his face in his hands to hide his own laughter and it wasn’t until the waiter came to the table that they were able to regain their composure. Smothering her giggles behind one hand and clearing her throat several times Darcy managed to gasp out her order, while Steve smoothed a hand across his face and took a deep breath before speaking to the waiter. As the waiter moved away, they stared at each other, Steve’s eyes soft on Darcy, and then the moment was broken by the shuffling, giggling exodus of the table of women.

Darcy watched gleefully as Steve caught the eye of one of the women, a tall brunette. He raised a hand in mute greeting and smiled sweetly at her. The woman’s jaw dropped and she flushed to roots of her hair before giving an apologetic grimace and hustling her oblivious friends out of the restaurant.

Waiting for the door to shut behind them, Darcy turned and grinned at Steve. ‘Oh boy, that was absolutely priceless!’ she cackled. ‘You’re a cruel, cruel man, Steve Rogers.’

‘What?’ he said, innocently puzzled. ‘I was just acknowledging a fan.’

He smirked at her and Darcy only laughed harder, until she was wiping tears from the corner of her eyes.

‘So,’ he said, when she had eventually stopped chuckling, ‘What did you think of the movie?’

* * *

‘I don’t want this evening to end,’ Darcy admitted softly, after the waiter had discreetly placed the bill on the table and Steve had handed over his credit card. ‘I’m having a really nice time.’

Steve ducked his head bashfully. ‘Me too,’ he said, looking at her from under his lashes. ‘Do you think you might like to come back to mine for coffee? Keep it going a little longer?’

Smirking, Darcy couldn’t resist saying, ‘You going to show me your etchings too?’

A small frown of confusion pinched at Steve’s brow. ‘My drawings? If you’d like to see them, I guess I could show you.’

Darcy gave a surprised laugh. ‘It’s that end of date thing, you say ‘Do you want to come back for coffee?’ or ‘See my etchings?’ and it means…’ she stopped and blushed. ‘Well, you know…’ she concluded awkwardly.

It took a moment for comprehension to dawn on Steve and then his eyebrows shot up. ‘Oh, _oh!_ No, I didn’t mean…I mean, I wouldn’t assume. Not that I don’t want…I mean…but I wouldn’t assume,’ he finished lamely.

Of the two of them, Darcy wasn’t quite sure whose face was the more vivid shade of red, but she felt sure she could have fried an egg on her hot cheeks.

‘So you’re an artist?’ Darcy said quickly, reaching indiscriminately for any change of subject.

Steve gave her a quick smile of gratitude for her clumsy segue. ‘Not sure I’d say that, but I like to draw when I have time,’ he said, with a modest duck of his head.

‘I’d like to see them, if you don’t mind showing me.’

‘I don’t mind,’ he assured her. ‘It’s just not many people have ever asked to look at them.’

The waiter reappeared with Steve’s card at that point and Darcy got to her feet.

‘Well, I’m asking,’ she said as Steve pocketed his wallet and scrambled to his feet. She held out a hand and he took it, entwining their fingers and smiling shyly at her.

The butterflies in Darcy’s stomach started fluttering anew. She wasn’t generally one for playing by the rules, so to speak. She waited until it felt right before she fell into bed with a guy, be that the first date or the sixth, and it felt right with Steve. The problem was that she didn’t really have any idea what his expectations were. She didn’t think he was a wait for marriage kind of guy, but equally he might not consider the second date appropriate for the filthy things that Darcy would like to do to him. And God, did she want to do filthy things to him! She would very much like to sink to her knees to worship at that particular altar.

She was so engrossed in her lascivious fantasies that they had walked the two blocks to Stark Tower without her realising it. She glanced up at the brightly lit monument and pursed her lips in a silent whistle.

Steve grinned. ‘Yeah, Tony doesn’t do things by halves.’

‘Some might say he was compensating for something?’

Winking at her, Steve said, ‘And again, no comment,’ and then led her by the hand into the foyer to the elevators.

‘Good evening Captain Rogers, and Miss Lewis. I trust you have had an enjoyable evening?’ an English accented voice suddenly piped up from nowhere making Darcy start violently. Steve brushed a reassuring hand across the small of her back.

‘Very enjoyable, thank you, Jarvis. The 83rd floor, please,’ He met Darcy’s quizzical gaze. ‘Jarvis is Tony’s AI. He controls the whole building,’ he explained.

Not a security guard then, or at least not a human one. Darcy looked up at the ceiling of the elevator but there was nothing to see except shiny chrome panelling.

‘Hello, Jarvis,’ she said hesitantly.

‘Hello, Miss Lewis. It is a pleasure to meet you.’

‘Um, and you.’

Fortunately the elevators doors opened just then so Darcy did not have to further agonise over how to maintain a conversation with a sentient building. She followed Steve along the corridor until he stopped in front of a door. He brushed his thumb across the access panel and it beeped, turning green. Once inside Darcy realised that, rather than taking her to the communal living space, Steve had guided her into his own apartment. She looked around with keen interest. The apartment was decorated neutrally and despite its size (obviously it was huge and had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city), it somehow managed to feel cosy, with a large, soft brown leather sofa and a fuzzy rug in the living area. There was a big bookcase stuffed with worn looking paperbacks, creased and faded spines that spoke of numerous fond re-readings. On the walls were several art prints, none of which Darcy knew but she recognised some of the styles. One looked distinctly like a Van Gogh and another might have been a Hopper but she wasn’t certain.

Steve strode over to the kitchen and began preparing coffee. She noticed this time that he only put milk out and it gave her a ridiculously warm feeling in her chest that he had remembered that she didn’t take sugar. She took her coffee with a small word of thanks and then nudged him with her elbow.

‘You going to show me those drawings, or did you get me up here on false pretences.’

‘You got your coffee, didn’t you?’ he said with a small smile and then squinted around the room. ‘I think I left…yeah, there it is.’ He walked over to a low wooden table and picked up a sketchbook bound in navy blue leather. He put it on the counter in front of her and flipped it open to a charcoal sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Darcy looked at him uncertainly. ‘You did this?’ she said.

Steve nodded, his expression a little anxious.

‘Oh wow,’ Darcy laughed suddenly. ‘I thought I was going to have to pretend to be impressed but this is amazing!’

‘Pretend to be impressed?’ Steve said, looking affronted.

‘You know, to protect your fragile ego,’ Darcy said with a grin, gently turning the page to a picture of the Black Widow curled up on a sofa seemingly lost in thought. There were more pictures of the other Avengers, Falcon looking mischievous, Iron Man tinkering with his suit, and the Winter Soldier laughing uproariously, as well as other cityscapes in Brooklyn and Manhattan. They were all exquisite.

‘God, this is so not fair,’ she exclaimed closing the sketchpad with excessive care.

‘What’s not fair?’ Steve said, taking a sip of his drink and placing it down on the counter top.

‘You. This!’ Darcy said. ‘I mean, you look like that.’ She waved a hand to encompass his gorgeousness. ‘You save the world on a regular basis. You’re kind, and funny, and lovely. And it turns out you’re a ridiculously talented artist as well. So, tell me, how is that fair?’

Steve’s cheeks turned a bit pink. ‘You think I’m lovely?’

‘Well, yeah,’ Darcy said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which of course, it was.

‘I’m not very good at talking to women.’

‘You seem to be doing a pretty good job with this one.’

Steve took a step towards her.

‘Yeah?’ he said, slipping his arms around her waist. Darcy’s heart was hammering in her chest as she traced a fingertip up his bicep. She tilted her head back to look up at him.

‘Yeah,’ she confirmed. ‘And that was pretty smooth.’

‘I think that might be the absolute limit of my suaveness, from here on in it’ll be bumbling awkwardness,’ Steve said with a slow grin.

‘It’s fine, I’ll take it from here.’ She slid her hand up his neck, pulling him towards her until his mouth was tantalisingly close and she could feel his breath on her lips.

‘My apologies, Captain Rogers,’ Jarvis’ clipped British tones broke in suddenly. ‘Sir is attempting to use the emergency override to gain access to your living quarters. I have attempted to divert him several times but he is most insistent.’

Steve jerked his head back and released her, swearing under his breath. It took Darcy a moment to overcome her vertigo at the sudden change of circumstances. She coughed, straightened her dress a little self-consciously and picked up her coffee cup to give herself something to do with her hands. Rubbing a rough hand over his face, Steve rolled his eyes heavenward and then sighed.

‘Let him in, Jarvis.’ He looked over at Darcy. ‘I’m so sorry about this…’

The front door opened before he could say more and Stark strutted into the room, calling out as he did so, ‘Suit up, Spangles, we’ve got a mission.’

He stopped suddenly and did a ludicrous double take when he saw Darcy.

‘Oh, sorry, Cap. I didn’t realise you had company,’ he said with a leer, oozing false sincerity.

‘Sir, I told you several times that Captain Rogers was entertaining a guest,’ Jarvis said, causing Darcy to stifle a smile.

Stark looked up with raised brows. ‘Did you?’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t remember that,’ he said looking mystified.

‘Tony,’ Steve said through gritted teeth. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I already told you, we’ve got a mission. It’s wheels up in thirty minutes so you better get packing.’

Darcy’s heart sank and, judging by the forlorn expression of his face, so did Steve’s.

‘Where are we going?’ he said.

‘Steve!’ Stark said with a scandalised glance in Darcy’s direction. ‘That’s top secret mission intel. You know we can’t say in front of civilians.’

Steve rolled his eyes again and pinched his brow, looking as if he was struggling not to strangle Stark. ‘Okay, Tony, I got the message. I’ll pack a bag and meet you on the roof in half an hour.’

‘And don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. You and I are going to be having a long discussion during the flight about you having a girl in your room, not only with the door shut but also locked!’ Stark winked in Darcy’s direction. ‘It took me ages to break in,’ he said mournfully. That time Darcy hid her smile behind her coffee cup and watched in fascination as the muscle in Steve’s jaw worked overtime to contain his irritation.

‘Can’t wait,’ he said sarcastically, hustling Stark towards the door with some whispered admonishments that, although Darcy couldn’t hear, suggested that Stark was getting a pretty thorough telling off. When Steve came back into the room he visibly unclenched his fists and looked at her sadly.

‘I’m sorry, Tony’s an ass but there really is a mission and I have to go.’

‘That’s okay,’ Darcy said quickly. ‘It’s what you got to do, go save everyone from the bad guys.’

‘Yeah, it is,’ Steve said with a sigh.

Darcy didn’t know what to do when he looked so crestfallen. ‘It’s okay, maybe we can pick this up when you get back?’ she said brightly.

Steve was frowning, looking down at his feet.

‘I don’t know,’ he said and Darcy’s heart dropped. ‘It’s going to be a few weeks.’

‘Hey, that’s fine. I can wait a few weeks.’ She was starting to feel a bit pathetic, like she was fast approaching begging territory and maybe she should just shut up, keep some of her dignity.

‘It’s always like this,’ Steve said heavily. ‘The last minute missions, being gone for weeks at a time. I’m just not sure I can do this.’

‘Do what?’ Darcy whispered, her heart now up in her throat.

Scrubbing a hand over his face Steve bit out, ‘Date. I don’t think I can date. I thought maybe I could but I’ll just let you down.’

‘I don’t think you could ever let me down.’

‘I would, I already am, and I’m sorry.’ He looked away and Darcy rubbed her eyes to subdue the burning sting of tears that threatened. ‘I’ll get you a car to take you home,’ Steve said without looking at her. His shoulders were hunched and he looked defeated but resolute. Darcy didn’t know what to say so she just nodded and waited while he requested that Jarvis have a car waiting for her downstairs.

They took the lift together in silence, Darcy hugging her bag tightly to her chest and wondering how such a wonderful evening had suddenly gone so wrong. There was a sleek, black Mercedes with tinted windows waiting in the underground garage and Steve opened the door for her. When she put her hand on the top of the door frame to slide into her seat Steve covered her hand with his and she stopped and looked up at him.

‘I’m sorry for dragging you into this,’ he said, his eyes anguished. ‘I thought…I wanted it to be different this time but this is my life, this is all I can be.’

She stared at him for a long moment.

‘You’re so much more than just Captain America,’ she said softly. ‘You deserve happiness, Steve, and I hope you find it.’

She turned and slid into the car. He held the door for a moment and then shut it carefully behind her. There was only silence in the car and then Darcy realised the driver was waiting for her. She told him her address and slumped back into the plush leather seat as the car moved off. Looking back she saw Steve stood in the middle of the garage, his hands on his hips, watching her drive away. Turning quickly away she pushed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets to stem the flow of tears and took a couple of deep breaths.

It had been a lovely fantasy but, unsurprisingly, it was now over and she could go back to her normal life, where perfect super soldiers did not exist and certainly had no interest in Darcy Lewis.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Wreckless? Sixteen dead in botched Avengers rescue mission._ **

_New York Daily News_

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind T’Challa, which wasn’t fair at all.

He was perfect.

Clint and Laura were eagerly awaiting her in the living room, Laura cuddled up on Clint’s lap, both of them wearing identical hopeful expressions. Slumping down on the sofa opposite them, Darcy rolled her eyes.

‘He’s perfect,’ she said begrudgingly. Clint and Laura exchanged a look.

‘But he’s not Steve?’ Clint said.

‘He’s not Steve,’ Darcy agreed sadly.

He was, however, considerably better than Luis, who, while incredibly sweet, barely let her get a word in edgeways; or M’Baku, whose potent masculinity was both sexy but also suffocating; or Justin, whose fascination with Iron Man appeared to have crossed the line into obsession.

The enthusiasm with which Clint and Laura had been arranging blind dates for Darcy to help her forget all about that super soldier guy, the one she was most definitely _not_ pining after, was almost disconcerting. They seemed to be working their way through a fairly long list and Darcy couldn’t help but wonder how long they had been yearning to set her up with someone. Was she really such a sad case? So far their attempts had been in vain, even when they presented her with such a perfect specimen as T’Challa, who was gorgeous, kind, and charming.

'Still?' Laura said, the corners of her mouth drooping as she regarded Darcy with a sympathetic expression. 'I thought at least one would have...it's been three months.' 

Three months? It seemed like longer, and also like yesterday, that Darcy had driven away from Stark Tower, tears in her eyes and her heart aching. She had tried so hard to forget, move on, and yet her thoughts continued to dwell on what might have been. The possibility of something really special which had been snatched away.

Darcy sighed and sipped her wine.

‘I just think you guys forget sometimes how incredibly lucky you are to have found each other,’ she said, gesturing sloppily with her wine glass. ‘That kind of love is pretty fucking special.’

Laura looked at her sadly. ‘You deserve that kind of love too.’

‘I know,’ Darcy said, shaking her head. ‘But I’m resigned to the fact that I may never find it, and that’s okay. I have great friends who love me.’

‘Woah, I’m not sure I’d go that far,’ Clint said before receiving a glare from Darcy and an elbow in the ribs from his wife. He winked at Darcy and blew her a kiss. ‘Of course, we love you, Darce. How could we not?’

‘It seems pretty easy for some people,’ Darcy said heavily, and there was no need for her to specify to whom she was referring.

Laura grimaced. ‘Darcy,’ she began but Darcy waved her off.

‘I know, I’m being maudlin.’ She gulped down some more wine and then tried to smile. ‘It probably doesn’t help that the only other person I’ve loved went and casually married my best friend.’

‘I love you too,’ Laura said with a laugh. ‘You just lacking in certain key areas,’ she said with a grin and a nod at Darcy’s crotch.

Clint stretched smugly. ‘What can I say, I’m just well endowed.’

‘Only more so than Darcy, darling,’ Laura said sweetly. ‘That’s hardly a ringing endorsement, she’s a woman.’

Clint’s face fell and he huffed, tucking his chin into his chest and narrowing his eyes at them both as they laughed.

‘I think Jane and Bruce are seeing each other,’ Darcy announced languidly after a moment.

‘What?’ Laura said, choking on her wine.

‘They think they’re being terribly subtle but she came round the other day wearing his ‘physicists do it at the speed of light’ T-shirt.’

‘I thought Bruce liked men?’

Darcy shook her head. ‘Nah, Bruce likes brains, the outer packaging is irrelevant.’

‘That makes him sound like a zombie,’ Laura snorted.

Clint regarded her with an evil glint in his eye. ‘So, are you telling me that even Jane is more romantically successful than you?’

‘You really are the worst friend, Clint. Laura, if you love me at all you’ll divorce that traitor immediately!’ Darcy said plaintively.

Laura shrugged. ‘But Darcy, we already talked about this.’ She hid her mouth behind her hand and stage whispered to Darcy, ‘I’m a slave to the cock!’

‘You both suck,’ Darcy groaned and Clint and Laura laughed.

Laura got up from Clint’s lap, still laughing. She walked over to Darcy and stroked her head tenderly.

‘Do you want to stay?’ she said.

Darcy nodded and held out a hand to Laura who helped her onto only slightly unsteady feet.

‘Take me to bed,’ Darcy said extravagantly, slinging an arm around Laura’s shoulder.

‘Hey, if that’s happening, I’m watching,’ Clint exclaimed behind them. Darcy looked over her shoulder.

‘Pervert,’ she said, as Laura disappointedly shook her head at her husband.

* * *

Someone was knocking insistently on the apartment door.

Darcy groaned, she'd only been back from Laura and Clint's for about half an hour and she was looking forward to nursing her teeny tiny hangover with coffee and trashy TV. She considered ignoring the persistent interloper, but, after a moment of grumbling, dragged herself from the sofa. There should be severe punishments for those that disturbed the sanctity of her lazy Saturday mornings she decided as she walked towards the door, muttering, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,’ under her breath. She flicked the latch, flung the door open with unnecessary force and gasped.

Steve stood in the hallway. He look tired and anxious, and the lower half of his face was covered by a short beard. Much as she hated to admit it, it looked really good, giving him a rugged air that was sexy as fuck. As she watched he sucked in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

‘Um, I’m sorry,’ he said immediately. ‘I shouldn’t…I wanted to…’ he stopped and frowned.

Darcy eased her death grip on the door and pulled it more fully open.

‘Do you want to come in?’ she said hesitantly, against her better judgement.

‘Yeah, that’d be good,’ Steve said with a small smile. He glanced furtively down the hallway and stepped inside. Darcy led the way to the living room, trying desperately to calm the thumping of her heart.

‘Do you want to sit down?’ she said, gesturing to the sofa, her words and actions stilted and uncomfortable. Steve nodded and took a seat on the very edge of the sofa, looking down at his tightly clasped hands.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said again, glancing up at her through his lashes. ‘I know I’m probably the last person that you want to see, but…I didn’t know where else to go.’

He looked so lost that Darcy couldn’t help the rush of sympathy she felt looking down at his hunched form. She dropped into the chair opposite and stared at him.

‘What happened?’ she said eventually when he made no further move to explain himself. The heavy sigh that Steve blew out spoke volumes to his unhappiness.

‘I just got back from a mission,’ he began slowly. ‘It was a mess from start to finish and there were some…casualties. Civilian casualties of a small but powerful nation. We thought the building was empty, we didn’t have time to defuse the bomb and there was a market place filled with people. If it had gone off there as it was supposed to it would have been devastating.’ He put his face in his palms. ‘Not that it wasn’t devastating anyway.’

Darcy stifled the urge to reach out and smooth his hair back from his brow. It was longer than she remembered.

‘Steve, you can’t hold yourself responsible for everyone you can’t save. You can only do your best,’ she said softly.

‘It’s not just me holding myself responsible,’ he said. ‘There’ve been calls for greater oversight, that we be held to account for our mistakes, mostly led by the Wakandan government but encouraged by Secretary Ross.’

Darcy gave a disgusted snort. Wakanda was where T’Challa was from but she didn’t think he would agree with his government’s stance, however saddened he was to hear about the deaths of his countrymen. The conversations they had had about Secretary Ross left them in full agreement regarding the man’s hubris and greed, and, on principle, Darcy was inclined to dismiss anything that the awful man was championing.

Steve looked up at her pleadingly. ‘There’s protesters and paparazzi surrounding the Tower, I just needed to get out for a while but I didn’t know where to go.’

She wanted to hug him, soothe away the crease between his brows but she didn’t know how.

‘You can stay here for as long as you want,’ she said and was pleased to see some of the tension in him ease.

‘Thank you, Darcy,’ he said gratefully. ‘I know this isn’t ideal but…’

‘It’s fine,’ she cut him off. ‘Do you want coffee, or something to eat, or a bath? A hot bath does wonders for my stress levels.’

His smile was sweetly bashful when he said, ‘A bath sounds nice, I didn’t do more than change my clothes before I left.’

By the time she had run him a bath she was nearly in total control of herself, that was until, while she was still babbling about extra towels, and bubble bath, and candles, he thanked her and began removing his shirt. The brief flash of toned stomach she glimpsed before she whipped round and shuffled out of the bathroom was enough to cause a deep rush of heat to flow through her, flushing her cheeks and stealing the lower registers of her voice.

‘Just call me if you need anything,’ she squeaked from outside the door and then made her way to the kitchen to begin cleaning up the mess of discarded dishes.

About fifteen minutes later Bruce came into the kitchen, looking about as confounded as she would expect him to look if someone had just disproved E=mc2.

‘Why is Captain America in our bath tub?’ he whispered.

‘How do you know Captain America is in our bath tub?’ she said, giving him a suspicious glare.

‘Because I just went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and Captain America was in the bath tub,’ he said dryly.

‘He’s just come for a visit,’ she said evasively.

‘And you’re okay with that?’ Bruce said, giving her a searching look, his tone gentle. ‘I thought he told you he didn’t want a relationship.’

It surprised Darcy that Bruce remembered that. He always seemed so wrapped up in his work that she was never quite sure how much of the things she told him he recollected. But, much like Jane, for all his introspection and seeming inattentiveness, he was a good friend, and currently he was looking very worried on her behalf.

‘He did, but he needs a friend right now,’ she said steadily, meeting Bruce’s eyes almost defiantly. Bruce held her gaze for a moment longer and then nodded.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Just be careful.’

‘I will,’ Darcy said, outwardly confident, even though she knew that it was already too late for that. From the sceptical expression on Bruce’s face, she suspected he knew that too.

When Steve finally reappeared he had redressed in jeans and a t-shirt but he had a towel slung around his shoulders and his hair was still damp from the bath.

‘Would you like some soup?’ Darcy said, stirring the bubbling pan on the stove.

‘Yes, please,’ Steve responded diffidently and she gestured to the now clean table, indicating that he should take a seat. Pouring generous portions of the lentil and bacon soup into two bowls she picked up one and grabbed a wooden board with a sliced up crusty loaf, depositing both on the table in front of him.

‘Help yourself,’ she said, tapping a finger against her cheek. ‘Butter! I nearly forgot butter.’ She went to the fridge and got the butter, snatching up the salt and pepper as she passed. Taking a seat opposite Steve she concentrated on buttering a slice of bread, adding some pepper to her soup and taking a delicate first sip. For the moment she was content to not think too hard about the man opposite her and how he had turned her life upside down without even really meaning to.

‘Thank you, Darcy,’ Steve said quietly and Darcy raised her eyes to find him regarding her earnestly. ‘I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.’

It was almost instinctual to brush off his thanks with a shrug and a shake of her head.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said flippantly. ‘Captain America needs my help. It’d be unpatriotic, or treason or something, to do anything else.’

His eyes, that moments before had been bright as he stared at her, dimmed and he dropped his gaze to his food.

‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s written somewhere in the Constitution,’ he said with a brittle laugh.

They ate in silence for some time, Darcy unsure exactly what she had done to upset him, but certain that she had. She watched him surreptitiously but his eyes remained on his food, his expression downcast.

After lunch she was about to suggest they watch a movie, anything to distract from the awkward silence between them, but Steve spoke up suddenly.

‘You’ve got _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_?’ he said, pulling the battered paperback from the bookshelf he had been perusing.

‘Oh, yes. I loved it when I was younger, used to read it every summer when I came to visit my aunt.’

‘It was one of those they re-printed as an Armed Services edition during the war. Bucky and I used to read it to each other, it reminded us of home when we were overseas,’ he said with a wistful smile, flicking through the thin pages. Darcy smothered a smile and reached out to take his hand. He obediently followed as she tugged him over to the sofa and sat down when she applied gentle pressure to his shoulders. He looked up from the book and blinked several times.

‘Sorry, it brings back a lot of memories,’ he said.

‘It’s fine, read away,’ she said, dropping into the armchair where her own book sat on the arm. She picked it up and opened it, raising her brows at him. Grinning, Steve’s gaze dropped back to his book and within seconds he was completely engrossed.

Darcy let out a tiny sigh and tried to concentrate on the adventures of Lyra and Will but Steve’s silent presence proved to be more than a little distracting. She snuck a glance at him over the top of her book, he was biting his lip as he turned the page. As she had noted earlier his hair was longer that when she had last seen him, the precise military trim gone, the ends curling loosely round his ears. The dark beard he was now sporting gave him a sexy, slightly dishevelled air that had nothing to do with Captain America and everything to do with Steve Rogers.

She sighed again, a little louder this time. He looked gorgeous, despite his careworn expression, and there was something appealing about his enthusiasm for a coming of age story about an eleven year old girl, the delicious juxtaposition of his potent masculinity and the sweetness of his disposition. Darcy wanted to smack her head against the hardcover of her book.

She had it bad.

Reluctantly she dragged her eyes back to the page in front of her and tried again to read. It was futile really. Her eyes slid up again and she met Steve’s solemn gaze. 

‘You’re staring,’ he said.

Flushing, Darcy hid her face behind her book.

‘I’m not staring,’ she mumbled. ‘I was just trying to think who you remind me of now you have a beard.’

‘And?’

She thought for a moment. ‘Hagrid,’ she said with a smile, putting her book down. ‘Definitely got an aura of Hagrid about you.’

‘Hagrid? As in the giant in the Harry Potter movies?’ The corner of his mouth twitched and curved upwards.

‘One and the same,’ she said airily, getting up to pour another coffee for them both. Steve took his with a nod of thanks. When she took her seat again he put the paperback aside and looked at her seriously.

‘It’s really good to see you,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry for the way I was last time.’

Darcy had to ask.

‘What happened? We were having such a nice night and then…?’

‘I fucked everything up.’

‘You could put it like that, yeah.’

Steve gave a heavy sigh, fiddling with the handle of his coffee cup.

‘I was having a really good night, I like being with you,’ he said carefully. ‘But Tony and the mission just reminded me that I can’t have a normal life, can’t date, can’t have things for myself because at some point I’m going to have to pick up the shield and go fight.’

Darcy nodded. ‘Being Captain America is part of who you are but I don’t see why Steve has to play second fiddle all the time. So you go save the world, lock up the baddies and then you come home and go on a date. What’s the problem?’

Brushing a frustrated hand through his hair Steve muttered, ‘I’m away on missions a lot, I’m putting myself at risk, half the time I don’t know where I’m going to be from one day to the next.’

‘So, you communicate, find a way to make it work,’ Darcy shrugged, outwardly nonchalant even though her heart was racing and her palms were clammy. There seemed to be so much possibility riding on this one conversation if she could just convince him that he didn’t need to put everything on hold, didn’t have to be the perfect super soldier all the time.

‘You make it sound easy?’ he said, half sceptical, half hopeful.

‘I don’t think it would be easy,’ Darcy snorted. ‘Far from it, but it could work if you were prepared to put in the effort.’

‘And you think someone would be willing to do that for me? To wait around while I’m on missions? Deal with all the shit that comes with being around an Avenger?’

_Hell, yes!_

She didn’t say that out loud, all she said was, ‘Pepper Potts manages it and I think the right person would too, as long as you didn’t shut them out for their own good, and you let them decide if the time they did get to spend with you was worth all the anxiety when you weren’t there.’ She held his gaze for a moment. ‘I think you’d find they’d probably say that spending time with Steve Rogers was worth any cost.’

‘Yeah?’ he said huskily.

‘Yeah,’ she said softly. ‘He’s a pretty great guy.’

Steve blushed and looked away. Darcy wondered if she had gone too far, but she couldn’t regret her words. She’d spent three months trying to get over the man now sitting on her sofa, and even though she barely knew him, what she did know made her willing to risk a hell of a lot for the chance to be with him. It might not work out but she didn’t want to look back on these days and wish she had said more, done more.

Steve was clearly deep in thought so she picked up her book and carried on reading, every furtive glance over to the sofa showing him still lost in his reverie.

* * *

‘Tony thinks we do need more oversight,’ Steve said, pacing up and down the roof terrace, bottle of beer clutched in one hand, the rays of the sinking sun turning his hair golden. Darcy put down her empty Thai takeout box, stretched lazily on the lounger, and tipped her head to one side.

‘But you don’t agree?’

Shaking his head emphatically, Steve said heavily, ‘No, I don’t. I still think the safest pair of hands are our own. Governments have agendas, and committees, and red tape, all of which would inhibit our ability to put down threats. But Tony thinks I’m arrogant for thinking like that.’

‘And the rest of the Avengers?’

‘Bucky agrees with me, he’s understandably not a fan of anyone having control of him. Vision agrees with Tony, and Natasha, Sam and Thor are on the fence.’

Taking a sip of her beer, Darcy thought for a moment. ‘I’m not sure I want someone like Secretary Ross in charge of a team of superheroes. That’s a lot of power in some very corrupt hands, if you ask me.’

Steve shot her a grateful smile. ‘Thank you! That’s what I told Tony, and Ross isn’t even the worst, even if he is the most vocal.’

‘And what about all that Hydra concealed in S.H.I.E.L.D. shit that went down in Washington a few years ago? That’s got to be a pretty compelling argument against you guys being at the beck and call of shady government types.’ She pursed her lips. ‘You don’t think Ross is Hydra do you? He’s evil enough.’

Steve laughed. ‘Yeah, he’s pretty evil but I’m reasonably sure he’s just run of the mill evil, rather than Nazi death cult evil.’

‘Is there a sliding scale of evil now? One being someone who kicks puppies and ten being Nazi death cult member?'

‘I’m pretty sure kicking puppies rates about an eight on the Scale of Evil,’ Steve said, raising an eyebrow at her.

‘True,’ she agreed with a chuckle. ‘Okay, so one is someone who snaps their fingers to get the waiter’s attention.’

‘That sounds about right.’ Steve stopped pacing and sat down on the wall, taking a swig from his beer, his gaze far away.

‘Am I arrogant, to think that it’s best if we oversee ourselves? Is Tony right?’ he said quietly after a while.

‘Do you think he’s right?’ Darcy asked.

‘I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure. I used to be so certain that I would be able to see the right path and follow it, but things have changed so much, the enemy isn’t always so obvious and sometimes, I have doubts. What if I get it wrong?’

‘Well, I for one am reassured that you have doubts.’ She met his surprised gaze with a smile. ‘What’s that quote? ‘ _The trouble with the modern world is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.’_ I think it’s Bertrand Russell or someone like that. Anyway, my point is, if you had no doubts, if you weren’t sitting here with me questioning your decisions and worrying about getting it wrong, then I might say you were arrogant. As it is, I think you’re fine.’

His slow smile was a thing of beauty. ‘Thanks Darcy, that helps.’

‘No problem,’ she said, giving him a sloppy salute to deflect from how much he was affecting her. ‘So, now we just have to come up with such a compelling argument that Tony will have to agree with you.’ She pulled a face at his sceptical expression. ‘Come on, none of that defeatist attitude!’ she said, and threw a chopstick at him. He caught it without a blink and cocked a challenging brow at her, flicking it idly between his fingers. 

'Don't you dare!' Darcy exclaimed. 'With your strength you'll probably impale me, and where would you be without me, your most valuable ally?' 

Steve contemplated the stick in his hand for a moment. 

'True,' he acknowledged.

Darcy relaxed back onto the lounger with a smug smile. 

The chopstick bounced off her forehead and fell to the floor with a clatter. 

'Oops,' Steve said with a smirk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, the perfect date had to be T'Challa 😢


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead!  
> If that's not your thing then once things start hotting up skip to the break in the middle of the chapter for the morning after.

**_What’s so special about her? Nothing, she’s just a girl from Brooklyn – The inside scoop on Captain America’s new love_ **

_Us Weekly_

Darcy patted the little bundle at the bottom of the guest bed.

‘There’s a towel and a toothbrush for you there,’ she said, trying not a blush with the awareness that she and Steve were standing in the guest room, and there was a bed right there, and she was pretty sure that she was well on her way to being in love with him, and she would probably give her left arm to spend even just one night in his arms. It was overwhelming how much she wanted him.

Once or twice during the day, when his sweet smiles had completely scrambled her wits, she had considered throwing aside all caution and kissing him. Just pressing her lips to his and seeing how he reacted. He’d reacted pretty well in the past so it wasn’t ridiculous to imagine that he might again. Except he had come to her looking for a friend, for an escape from a difficult situation and she didn’t want to do anything that might make him think he had to leave. She definitely didn’t want him to leave and if these little crumbs of friendship were all she was going to get, well, she’d take it. Having Steve Rogers as a friend was pretty fucking special, so why ruin that?

‘Let me know if you need anything else,’ she said, following it up with a wide yawn and a chuckle. ‘I think it’s time for me to go to bed.’

‘Thanks, Darcy. Goodnight,’ Steve said softly, holding her gaze with an intensity that made her hot all over.

 _‘Stop reading something into nothing!’_ she berated herself silently before whisking herself out of the room with a stammered, ‘Goodnight.’

Darcy brushed her teeth slowly and then went into her room and put on the huge sleep shirt with Thor on the front she wore in lieu of pyjamas. Crawling into bed, she pulled the covers over herself and let out a heavy sigh. And absolutely did not contemplate what Steve might wear to bed, or what he might _not_ wear to bed.

She buried her head in the pillow, her mind playing back the unexpected events of the day. It had been lovely and although it had not ended quite as she might have hoped, if she had let herself consider the possibility, it was still pretty good. She fumbled for her bedside lamp and then realised her water glass was missing from the nightstand. Huffing irritably she shuffled out of bed, opened her bedroom door and walked straight into a well-muscled, _shirtless,_ brick wall.

‘Oh!’ she exclaimed stumbling back. Steve’s hand shot out and he caught her elbow, saving her from an ungainly fall. ‘Sorry,’ she said, smiling up at him, before realising that her other hand was resting on his bare chest and dropping it with a blush. ‘I was just going to get a glass of water,’ she blurted out, trying not to stare at the defined muscles of his abdomen and the way his boxer shorts clung lovingly to his powerful thighs.

‘I was just brushing my teeth,’ he replied, flashing her a glimpse of his white teeth.

‘Good, good,’ she bumbled. ‘Dental hygiene is really important.’

_Good grief, dental hygiene is important? Get it together, Darcy!_

‘I think I did a PSA to that effect when they first got me out of the ice.’

‘Oh, right,’ she said uncertainly, not wanting to admit that she’d watched all his PSAs, torn between lust and hysterical laughter. They were seriously corny but he was _so_ pretty. ‘I’d better get that glass of water.’

‘Darcy, wait. I…’ Steve stopped and dropped his gaze to her T-shirt. She saw his lips twitch as he took in the picture emblazoned on the front and then he shook his head and met her eyes again. Darcy was acutely conscious that his hand still rested on her elbow, warm and sure, making her skin prickle with awareness.

‘You…?’ she said.

The hand on her elbow tugged her gently forward. Steve scanned her face, his expression faintly hopeful.

‘I…’ His voice was gruff, like his mouth had suddenly gone dry.

She unconsciously leaned into him, drawn to the heat of his body and the unspoken question in his eyes. 

‘I…’ he said again and she felt his breath ghost across her cheek.

_Fuck it!_

She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his.

It seemed that was what he had been waiting for as immediately his burly arms slipped around her and enveloped her in his embrace. His lips parted under hers and he deepened the kiss with a needy moan. The sound sent a rush of heat through her. Her hands slid up his back, pressing into his shoulder blades. He gently explored her mouth with his tongue, the sensation almost overwhelming, and she couldn’t help the little hum of pleasure that fell from her lips.

Before she realised what was happening he had hoisted her up, without breaking the kiss, and her legs were wrapped around his waist, his hands gripping the bare skin of her thighs. She could feel his hard length pressed against her and without thinking she ground herself down on it. He groaned against her mouth, pressing her back into the wall and giving her better traction. Her hand clutched at his shoulder while the other cupped the back of his head so she could kiss him with the ferocity of three months of pent up desire.

‘God, Darcy,’ he murmured when they eventually separated to drag in a few quick breaths.

‘Bedroom, bedroom,’ she gasped out, barely able to get the words out. Fortunately, he seemed to understand her fumbling attempts at sentence construction and staggered into her room, kicking the door shut behind him, even as he claimed her mouth again.

It was a travesty that she had almost forgotten what a good kisser he was but the hungry press of his lips and the teasing slide of his tongue, as well as the rough caress of his beard, were getting her embarrassing wet. They hadn’t even got to the main event yet and she was pretty sure that even if that woman in the restaurant was right in her assessment of his endowment he probably wouldn’t need to bother with foreplay. Just kissing him was foreplay enough.

Steve bent and laid her carefully on the bed. He paused for a second, looking down at her and for a terrible moment Darcy thought he might call a halt to proceedings. There was a strong possibility she would scream in frustration if he did, but he just smiled at her in a slightly dazed way.

‘You’re really beautiful, you know?’ he said softly. Darcy couldn’t help the beaming smile that spread across her face. She reached out a hand to try to draw him to her, watching as the muscles on his abdomen twitched in response to the brush of her fingertips.

‘Have you seen yourself?’ she said with a laugh. ‘I think if anyone’s the beautiful one here it would be you.’

God, that sounded so cheesy, but he didn’t seem to mind.

‘See, now you’re putting me in a difficult situation, because it’d be impolite to contradict you, but also, you’re totally wrong,’ he grinned, obeying the subtle command of her hand on his hip and crawling into the welcoming cradle of her thighs. He captured her lips in another heady kiss, then kissed the corner of her mouth and continued down her neck, sucking gently at her heated skin. Darcy shuddered under his lips, stifling a moan with the back of her hand. His hands pressed into her hips and smoothed their way up her body, rucking up her t-shirt and exposing her stomach to his touch. Darcy ran her nails down the back of his head, tugging slightly on the soft strands of his hair, and he growled. The sound made Darcy shiver, a full body frisson of lust.

‘Can I get this off?’ Steve said, plucking at her sleep shirt. ‘Having a friend from work staring up at me while we…well, it’s a bit off putting.’

Darcy giggled and helped him to shove the shirt up her body. She might have felt self-conscious but his reverent gaze bolstered her confidence.

‘Any excuse to get my clothes off?’ she said with a smirk.

‘Sweetheart, I don’t need any excuse,’ he said gruffly, pulling the shirt over her head and laughing with her when it got caught and she struggled to extricate herself. The way he looked at her when she was lying beneath him clad only in her little blue pyjama shorts was nothing short of exhilarating, his eyes both awed and hungry.

She pulled him back down on top of her, their bare chests pressed together, and mouthed at the hinge of his jaw. His hand traced up her side and caressed her breast, his thumb rubbing the tight tip of her nipple. Darcy gasped against his neck and bit down gently as he engulfed her breast in his large hand and squeezed softly. She couldn’t help but undulate her hips, his erection pressing against her aching core, only the thin cotton layers of their underwear separating them. Steve groaned and then dipped his head to take her nipple between his lips. The warm, wet suction of his mouth caused a bolt of arousal to sweep through Darcy and she moaned, gripping the back of his head to keep him in place. His hand swept down her stomach, and she forgot to feel self-conscious as he continued to nuzzle at her breast. He stilled his fingers at the top of her shorts, and raised his head to meet her eyes, gaze questioning. In response she tilted her pelvis and his hand slipped beneath the waistband, sliding unerringly down between her legs. He trailed languid circles around her clit and she bucked against his fingers.

‘Fuck,’ she breathed, catching his face in her palms and kissing him messily. ‘That feels good.’

‘Yeah?’ Steve said with a lazy smile, his lips pink from the ferocity of her kisses.

‘Oh God, yes.’ Darcy inhaled sharply as he increased the pressure slightly, his expression intent and searching. When one of his thick fingers slid inside her Darcy bit her lip and dug her fingers into the muscles of his shoulder. She smoothed her other hand down his stomach, relishing in the sharp breath he sucked in when she ran a fingertip down the trail of hair that led to the waistband of his boxer shorts. He ground against her thigh, almost involuntarily, and then pressed another finger into her.

Darcy swore again and she felt him hesitate.

‘Don’t stop,’ she said quickly with an encouraging roll of her hips.

‘Sorry,’ he said, smiling at the sharpness of her tone. She kissed him apologetically but he just shook his head and continued his ministrations to the sound of her breathy gasps and moans. His thumb moved in tight circles on her clit, in time with the thrust of his fingers inside her. Darcy felt hot all over, her breathing rapid, the coil of her orgasm tightening with every delicious surge of his hand.

‘You gonna come for me?’ he said huskily against her lips.

Darcy nodded frantically, unable to get any words out, her grip on his shoulders tightening until she was sure that she was going to leave marks. Her orgasm was like a wave, building and building until it crashed over her. She cried out, clenching around Steve’s fingers as he stroked her through the shuddering aftershocks of her pleasure, and then she relaxed into the bed, a hazy grin on her face.

‘Fuck, you really know what you’re doing.’ she said languidly. Steve raised an eyebrow.

‘You seem surprised?’

‘Not surprised,’ she murmured. ‘Just, it’s hard to know how much of the squeaky clean super soldier stuff is total bullshit.’

‘It’s all total bullshit,’ he said firmly.

Darcy sat up and pushed him until he slumped onto his back. She straddled his thighs. ‘Thank God for that,’ she said kissing him slowly. ‘I’m not sure that I'd want to be the one responsible for your deflowering. But,’ she said, sliding her hand down to cup him in his shorts. ‘I really, really want this inside me.’

‘Jesus!’ he gasped, twitching hot and hard in her hand, seemingly unconcerned with her sudden channelling of her inner pornstar. ‘I think that can definitely be arranged.’

‘Good,’ she purred, as his hips bucked into her caressing hand. ‘Condoms!’ she announced suddenly and tried not to smile at the little huff of disappointment that escaped him when she released him and flopped across the bed to scrabble in her bedside drawer. Steve rolled with her and began to kiss her shoulder rather distractingly. ‘They’re here somewhere,’ she said, chucking the contents of the drawer onto the floor in her unseemly haste to find the condoms, before brandishing the box triumphantly. She shucked off her shorts, Steve swiftly following suit the moment he realised what she was doing, and ripped open one of the foil packets. Repositioning herself over him, Darcy rolled the condom onto him while he watched her with hooded, ardent eyes. His fingers curled around her hips as she lifted herself over him.

‘Are you sure about this?’ he said softly.

‘Hell yeah,’ she said. ‘Why? Are you not?’

‘Oh, I’m sure. I just wanted to make sure that you were.’

She grinned at him. ‘So, just to clarify, we’re all sure that we are sure we want to do this?’

‘Sure,’ he said solemnly, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes that dissolved into hot desire as she began to ease herself down his length. His hands on her hips tightened but he didn’t apply any pressure, letting her take him in at her own pace, although the tension in his jaw suggested that it took more than a little restraint.

Darcy was in heaven. The delicious stretch as she eased herself down onto him was sublime. It had been a while and she had almost forgotten how good it felt. She rolled her hips experimentally and Steve gave a shaky groan.

‘Fuck, Darcy,’ he ground out.

She hummed in the back of her throat, steadied herself with her hands on his chest, and began moving, finding an easy rhythm that soon had them both gasping. Steve bent his knees, flattening his feet against the bed and thrust up into her.

‘Steve,’ she moaned as he slid even deeper. He growled in response.

‘Say it again, say my name,’ he demanded with a hard thrust that left her weak with desire.

‘Steve,’ she babbled obediently. ‘Fuck, Steve, you’re going to make me come again.’

He redoubled his efforts, thrusting into her with deep, powerful strokes that stoked the sensual fire within her. Fumbling briefly, he pressed his fingers to her clit and the additional friction sent her once again soaring towards orgasm. She tipped her head back and came with a low groan, the searing heat of her pleasure radiating outwards from her core to her extremities, bathing her in warm satisfaction. Steve’s thrusts lost their rhythm, his grip on her hips tightening until she felt him shudder and go still as he came with choked out gasp of her name.

Darcy buried her face in his neck and tried to slow her breathing. She felt him press a kiss to her temple and lifted her head to meet his eyes.

‘Wow,’ she said grinning.

‘Wow,’ Steve agreed with a blush and Darcy couldn’t help but kiss him, panting slightly against his lips. She carefully eased herself off him, watching with drowsy eyes as he disposed of the condom and then slipped back into bed with her. Steve pulled her against him, curling himself around her back, one heavy arm draped around her waist. She wiggled a bit to get comfortable, giggling at the little hiss he let out when her bottom grazed his crotch, and then entwined their fingers, letting out a sleepy huff of contentment as Steve nuzzled her neck.

‘Night, Darcy,’ he whispered.

‘Night, Steve,’ she whispered back, closing her eyes, grateful that the darkness hid her utterly besotted grin.

* * *

Darcy cuddled up against Steve, laying her head on his chest and listening to the slow, steady beat of his heart, while his fingers twined through her hair. The bright morning sunlight was muted by the fabric of Darcy’s too thin curtains, bathing the room in a hazy, yellow glow.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ she said into the comfortable silence that had fallen.

‘What kind of question?’ he murmured. She turned on her front and rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him through her lashes. He stared down at her, his eyes sleepy and his smile content.

‘You seemed to like it when I said your name, you know, when we were...last night?’ She stopped, feeling the heat of a blush in her cheeks. ‘It just occurred to me that…do people call you Captain in bed?’

Steve shifted a little under her and his eyes darted away for a second. When his gaze fell on hers again she held it. His cheeks were stained pink and there was a tiny crease between his brows.

‘There was one time…’ he admitted slowly and then blinked and added hastily, ‘We weren’t in bed, we were…kissing, on my sofa.’

‘But it was heading that way?’ Darcy said with a naughty smirk and raised eyebrow. Steve nodded, his blush intensifying.

‘Then she whispered, ‘Take me to bed, Captain America’,’ he said with a self-conscious grimace.

Darcy choked back a laugh, ‘Oh God, that’s not what you want to hear.’

‘Not really, no,’ Steve said with a shake of his head. ‘It kind of brought it home to me that most people aren’t really interested in me, just the suit and the shield.’

‘I’m interested in you,’ Darcy said immediately. ‘All that stuff with the suit and the shield is sort of an inconvenience if I’m honest.’ She leaned up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. ‘But worth it if I get to spend a little time with you.’

Steve’s smile was like the sun breaking from behind the clouds. He caressed her cheek, running his thumb along her jawline.

‘Can I stay a bit longer?’ he said.

‘Stay forever,’ she whispered without a pause. He beamed at her again and then captured her lips in a gentle kiss. It probably would have led to more had his stomach not taken the opportunity to rumble loudly. Darcy broke away with a laugh and patted him on the chest. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get on breakfast right away.’

He grinned at her sheepishly. ‘I am a bit hungry,’ he admitted.

Scrambling out of bed, Darcy grabbed her rumpled sleep shirt from the floor and slung it on. She knew she probably had a grievous case of sex hair but she didn’t care, simply smoothing it back from her forehead and putting on her glasses.

‘I think I’ve only got about a dozen eggs so I’m not sure what I’m going to be eating but I’m sure I’ll find something,’ she teased with a longsuffering sigh.

‘I’ll be fine with only half a dozen eggs, as long as there’s a whole loaf of bread and an ox on the side,’ Steve shot back with a smirk.

‘Touché,’ she said as she left the room. ‘One whole ox coming right up.’

In the kitchen she quickly cracked the eggs into a bowl and began whisking them. There seemed to be some kind of commotion going on in the street outside her apartment and she set the bowl down and went to the window. A crowd of people had congregated on the sidewalk but she couldn’t work out what was going on, so she pulled the window open and leaned out to get a better look.

Immediately she was blinded by the bright lights of about fifty camera flashes going off in her face.

_‘Darcy Lewis?’_

_‘Miss Lewis, is it true that Captain America is there with you now?’_

_‘Darcy, what’s Captain America like in bed?’_

A cacophony of voice rose up at the sight of her and for a moment she could only stare dumbstruck as they shouted and hollered and their cameras flashed. She swallowed hard, pulled her head back in and slammed the window shut, her heart thumping against her ribs.

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck!_

Her head was whirling and she looked blindly around the empty room, hands clenching and unclenching impotently at her sides. Her gaze fell on the bowl of eggs. She picked it up again and began whisking the eggs again with violent, jerking movements, biting her lip hard.

The little bubble of contentment they had built, safe from the outside world, had well and truly burst. How was she going to tell Steve that half the world’s press seemed to be at her front door?

Steve came into the room a moment later, his hair mussed from sleep, clad only in his boxers, his t-shirt clutched in one hand.

‘What’s going on out there?’ he said with a nod towards the window. ‘There’s a hell of a lot of noise.’

Her brain seemed to have ceased to function and Darcy could only watch in stupefied horror as he approached the window, pulled it open and leaned out, squinting eagerly. He hadn’t even put his t-shirt on, she realised dimly. The racket became a roar as Captain America’s half naked torso appeared out the window, and light flared as all the flashes went off at once.

Darcy cringed at the sound of the window slamming shut for a second time.

Steve stared blankly across the room for a long moment, swore extensively and imaginatively under his breath, and then stomped out the room, tugging on his t-shirt as he went.

Mindlessly Darcy continued to beat the eggs until Steve came back into the room, now wearing his jeans and sweater and talking angrily on the phone.

‘Yes, well, my brilliant plan wasn’t so brilliant after all,’ he said. There was a pause. ‘I don’t know how they found me.’

Darcy’s heart sank. He was not looking at her but, despite his words, she could feel the weight of his unfounded accusation from across the room.

‘Well, they’re here now. Can you send a car? I need to get out of here as soon as possible.’ He swore again. ‘Yeah, I know, Buck,’ he said heavily. ‘No, do not put Tony on. Please don’t…Tony.’ His voice went flat. ‘Yes, thank you for that insight, can you just send the fucking car?’ He listened for another few seconds, his jaw visibly clenching.

Putting the bowl of eggs down, Darcy moved into the centre of the room. She tugged at the hem of her shirt, feeling suddenly exposed and vulnerable. As she watched Steve hung up the phone with a growl of annoyance and shoved it in his back pocket.

He closed his eyes for a moment, a small furrow between his brows.

‘Darcy, I’m sorry,’ he said, his tone laced with bitterness. ‘I shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake.’

Her ears rang with the sound of his words.

_This was a mistake._

She barely registered what he said after, could only concentrate on the fact he thought the most wonderful night of her life was a mistake. Her eyes grew wet despite her desperate attempts to hold back her tears.

When Steve glanced over at her he obviously registered the tears pooling in her eyes.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said again. ‘I don’t know how they found me.’

She knew that was a lie. He certainly knew how he _thought_ they had found him. That somehow she had tipped them off. How could he think anything else? Or was it just coincidence that whole of the New York Press had got up that morning and thought, _I know where Steve Rogers is, he’s in that apartment building in Brooklyn with the blue door._

She couldn’t really blame him for his suspicion despite it being completely baseless. She would suspect her too, were she in his shoes.

‘You could stay,’ she said huskily, her throat tight, knowing that it was futile to try to convince him. He already regretted it. ‘We could just ignore them, maybe they’ll go away.’

Steve pinched his brow. ‘They won’t go away,’ he said sharply. ‘They’re fucking vultures. By tomorrow morning there’ll be pictures of you in every paper and gossip rag from here to Timbuktu. And they’ll hound you, Darcy. They’ll ask intrusive, personal questions about everything, about you, about me, about what happened between us. I shouldn’t have come here, I should have known better.’ He clenched his fists at his sides and glared at the floor.

Bruce ambled blearily into the room, his t-shirt on backwards and his hair standing on end.

‘There’s about a hundred people out there taking photos?’ he announced. Darcy didn’t groan out loud but it was a close run thing.

‘Did they take a photo of you?’ she asked, a little desperately.

‘I don’t know, they might have,’ Bruce blinked rapidly. ‘I put my head out the window to tell them to shut up.’

‘For fuck’s sakes,’ Steve muttered, pulling his phone from his pocket and stalking out the room. 

Darcy put her face in her hands and then looked up at a bemused Bruce.

‘They’re reporters,’ she explained. ‘Somehow they found out where Steve was hiding.’

‘Oh,’ Bruce said, and something that looked a lot like guilt flickered in his eyes.

Darcy took a deep, calming breath before she asked, ‘Was it you? Did you tell someone Steve was here?’

Bruce ducked his head, looking shamefaced. ‘I might have mentioned it in passing to Cameron. We were on the phone last night, talking about the latest batch of data when you shouted that the Thai food was here. I didn’t realise it was a secret and it just slipped out. I’m sorry, Darcy. It didn’t occur to me that he would be particularly interested.’

Shaking her head resignedly, Darcy patted his shoulder. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘It’s okay.’

It wouldn’t have occurred to Bruce because he himself was not interested. As far as he was concerned the new batch of data was far more fascinating than some guy with a shield who was in his house. Clearly the same was not true for Cameron, but Darcy couldn’t really blame him, or Bruce for that matter.

‘It’s clearly not okay,’ Bruce said.

Before she could answer, Steve swept back into the room.

‘My car is here,’ he said shortly, barely sparing her a glance. Bruce edged away, either to give them some privacy or to make himself scarce from the potential wrath of Steve, Darcy wasn’t sure which.

‘Steve,’ she said, trying to draw his attention. ‘Can we just talk about this?’

‘I don’t think there’s anything to talk about. The sooner I’m gone, the better. The sooner they’ll lose interest and leave you alone,’ he said in a flat, weary tone.

There really didn’t seem to be any reasoning with him and Darcy was still clinging to the modicum of pride that prevented her from actively begging him not to leave, even if she thought it would make a difference. She could sense his stubbornness, his certainty that drawing the press away from her was the right thing to do. She knew an exercise in futility when she saw one.

Darcy followed him to the front door and as he twisted the latch he finally looked at her.

‘I’m so sorry, Darcy. I never meant for you to become involved in all this,’ he said, his eyes burning with regret. ‘I’ll get Tony to issue a statement or something, deny everything. Hopefully they’ll lose interest soon enough.’

Although she had no wish for any kind of publicity, the idea of Steve publically denying all knowledge of her was painful. She suspected he might misunderstand her motives if she expressed how much his words hurt, so instead she nodded pitifully and remained silent.

He caught her hand when she didn’t respond and squeezed it.

‘I’d better go,’ he said, hesitating in the open doorway.

‘Yeah,’ she nodded, biting her lip.

‘Okay, um…you take care,’ he said awkwardly, dropping her hand and stepping out. ‘Bye.’

He shut the door behind him and Darcy stepped towards it, for a brief moment intent on throwing it open and chasing him down the hall. Instead she pressed a hand to the wood.

‘Bye,’ she whispered miserably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, and I'm sorry...


	7. Chapter 7

**_Wild Child! The sordid past of Captain America’s mystery lady_ **

_National Enquirer_

Darcy sighed heavily and leaned her forehead against the cool wooden counter. The monthly accounts were failing to capture her attention and the shop, for the moment, was empty of customers to provide any form of distraction. Her eyes flicked briefly to the open newspaper laid out next to her. 

Six weeks had passed but finally the press and the public seemed to have lost interest in her and her short-lived fling with Captain America. The first couple of weeks had been torture. As promised, Steve had issued a general denial and asked the world at large to respect Darcy’s privacy.

A request that had largely been ignored.

There had been pictures of her everywhere, along with in depth analyses of her life, personality, looks, career and dating history. One rag had even managed to dig up a couple of her ex-boyfriends who were only too happy to provide all kinds of sordid and exaggerated details of her supposed sexual proclivities. The resulting awkward conversation with her mother was not one she could recall without wincing.

The main question on everyone’s lips seemed to be, _what was so special about Darcy Lewis?_ And the general consensus, rather insultingly, although predictably, tended towards bafflement and confusion. She was only passably pretty, not very successful and disconcertingly normal, and it hadn’t taken too long for the press to decide that perhaps there was some truth in Captain America’s denial of a relationship. After all, what could America’s sweetheart possibly see in a nobody from Brooklyn?

The only upside was that all the interest in her had doubled footfall in her little shop, and she found that she wasn’t above a little manipulation to convince those that had only stepped inside to stare rudely and whisper about her to buy something from the store.

_Buy a boring book off the woman who screwed Captain America!_

She hadn’t put up an advertisement to that effect, but it didn’t stop them coming in. The whispers and the sidelong glances she could deal with, it was the people who insisted on actually questioning her that she found particularly difficult. When trying to recover from a broken heart the last thing she wanted to do was spend all her time deflecting intrusive questions about the person who had done the breaking.

Other than his very public statement Darcy had only received one text message from Steve, which simply read, _I’m so sorry for everything. S._

She had ignored it, she did have some self-respect after all, but it had taken every ounce of her willpower to do so. Jane and Laura had proved themselves the very best of friends when she spent the rest of the evening sobbing drunkenly into her glass of wine, simultaneously consoling her, and surreptitiously confiscating her phone until she had sobered up.

Tapping her finger distractedly on the keyboard of her computer, Darcy stared blankly at her accounts spreadsheet. She yawned and then looked up with a frown when she heard a faint rumbling noise from outside. The street outside was deserted but for one runner in singularly inappropriate workout gear who dashed past the window as she watched. Who the hell wore a blouse to go for a jog?

Someone screamed outside.

Darcy slowly rose to her feet, her heart rate beginning to pick up. She shook her head, trying to dispel the uneasy feeling in her gut, and then her eyes narrowed as she watched another person sprint past the window. Screams, sirens and people inexplicably running in the street were everyday occurrences in the city but the tugging sense of disquiet was rising.

The shop windows suddenly imploded with a screeching roar.

Darcy threw herself behind the counter, her arms over her head and her ears ringing, as shards of shattered glass showered down on her.

There was a muted boom and a crash, followed by more screams. A car alarm let out a piercing wail. Darcy stared hard at the floor, panting hard as adrenalin surged through her system. With a trembling hand she reached out and fumbled for the baseball bat she kept under the counter. She peeked hesitantly over the top of the desk. More people were running down the street, looking back over their shoulders with terrified expressions.

‘Darcy? Darcy! Are you okay?’

Wanda appeared at the wrecked doorway. She was breathing heavily and there was a fine film of dust coating her red hair. Darcy rose from her hiding place on shaky legs.

‘I’m okay,’ she stammered. ‘What the fuck is going on?’ For once she refrained from a snarky comment about Wanda’s lateness, it just didn’t seem appropriate under the circumstances.

‘I don’t know, it’s some kind of attack. I think we need to get out of here,’ Wanda said, with a glance over her shoulder.

There was another muffled boom and Darcy shot across the shop. She grabbed her friend’s hand in a tight squeeze, gripping the baseball bat in her other hand. 

‘Where to?’ she said breathlessly.

‘Anywhere where nothing’s on fire or exploding,’ Wanda said with a tight grin.

‘Sounds like a plan,’ Darcy agreed as Wanda dragged her down the street, following the frantic flow of human traffic.

Outside was absolute chaos and Darcy quickly regretted their plan. Everywhere she looked she could see upturned cars, raging fires and panic-stricken people, and it really wasn’t clear which direction led to safety. Dust choked every breath she took and made it more difficult to see. When she glanced back over her shoulder she caught sight of some kind of metallic robot thing with far too many legs and some kind of laser gun mounted on top scuttling down the street.

‘What the hell is that?’ she shrieked, gripping Wanda’s arm in a vice like hold.

‘Fucked if I know! Robospider? Arachnobot? Whatever it is, I want to get as far away as possible,’ Wanda said cheerfully, though the sudden burst of speed she put on suggested she wasn’t quite as sanguine as she sounded.

Darcy tried not to regret letting her gym membership lapse as her breath came out only in gasps and her side ached with the beginnings of a stitch. Wanda pushed her suddenly down a side street and Darcy did her best to keep pace, dodging other civilians, trash cans and the odd tree. She came down hard on her ankle as she vaulted a pile of abandoned shopping bags, limping a couple of steps before finding her stride. As they approached the end of the road it was clear from the shouting ahead that they hadn’t managed to get out of the danger zone. A taxi flew past the intersection and smashed into a lamp post with a crunch of crumpling metal. The driver got out looking dazed, gave himself a shake and ran. Darcy balked but Wanda yanked her onwards.

A sudden high pitched wail rent the air, tearful and confused, and Darcy’s head whipped round. Behind the slightly smoking ruin of the taxi was a little girl. Her face was screwed up as she cried. Scanning her, Darcy was relieved to see no obvious injuries but then her heart sank. Behind her lay a crumpled form on the ground.

‘Wanda!’ Darcy shouted, tugging her single-minded friend’s arm urgently. Wanda’s eyes followed Darcy’s pointing finger.

‘Shit!’ she swore and they took off towards the child. Wanda dropped to her knees beside the stunned woman and Darcy crouched beside the girl.

‘Hey, sweetie,’ she panted, plastering on the best approximation of a smile she could muster under the circumstances. ‘What’s your name?’

The little girl stared at her with wide eyes for a second. ‘Hope,’ she said and then her face crumpled. ‘Mama won’t wake up!’ she wailed.

‘I’m Darcy, Hope, and this is Wanda.’ Wanda gave her a little wave and then went back to tending the girl’s mother. ‘We gonna help you and your Mama, okay?’

The look that Hope gave Darcy was insultingly sceptical but to be honest, maybe the kid had a point. On the plus side, Hope’s mother seemed to have revived and Wanda was helping her get unsteadily to her feet.

‘Do you think you can walk, miss?’ Wanda said to the woman. The woman gave her a weak smile and nodded.

‘It’s Janet, and I might need some help but yes, I think I can walk.’

‘Good to meet you Janet, I’m Wanda and that’s Darcy with your girl.’

‘Hope,’ Darcy supplied helpfully.

‘Hope,’ Wanda said with a smile. ‘Pretty name.’

Darcy, who was looking down the road, shifted her grip on the baseball bat and hoisted Hope onto her hip with her free hand. ‘So, we done with introductions, because I really think it’s time to get out of here?’

Wanda looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened. ‘Yep, definitely time to go!’ she said, slinging Janet’s arm across her shoulder and setting off with as much alacrity as the injured woman could manage, Darcy and Hope following behind.

Every time Darcy dared a glance, the Arachnobot she’d spotted was getting closer. Janet was struggling to move very fast, and Darcy wasn’t doing much better with the weight of Hope to carry. Her lungs were burning fiercely and the sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen kept getting worse. 

‘Wanda!’ she shouted, grinding to a halt. ‘This isn’t going to work!’ She put Hope down, gently untangling the grasping, desperate hands of the small girl and pushing her towards Janet, who swiftly grabbed her hand. ‘Keep going, I’ll hold it off.’

Wanda grimaced. ‘Darcy, don’t be stupid,’ she said.

‘Not stupid,’ Darcy said, waving her baseball bat triumphantly. ‘I was a Little League star, and we aren’t outrunning these fuckers!’ She shot Janet an apologetic look but the woman just shrugged resignedly. Wanda looked up the street at the approaching robot and then back at the rest of their group.

‘Fuck!’ she swore helplessly under her breath. She reached out and gave Darcy a quick, tight hug. ‘Give it hell.’

‘I will, now run!’ Darcy said urgently, and they did.

Darcy stared after them for a couple of seconds and then turned slowly. She dragged in a deep breath and tried to calm the hammering of her heart. It didn’t work, but she planted her feet solidly and gave a couple of experimental swings of the bat.

‘Come on, you shithead!’ she muttered.

The approaching Arachnobot surged up the road towards her, laser swinging on its mounting. Darcy ducked as it fired, dodging the sharp beam of red light. It fired again as it neared and hot agony sliced her arm. She looked down to see a smouldering rent in her shirt sleeve. Twisting on the balls of her feet, she gripped her weapon tighter, trying desperately to ignore the pain in her arm and the terror that surged through her as she realised what a terrible plan this was.

Gritting her teeth, she started to move, weaving to avoid the pulsing laser fire, and then, with a defiant yell, launched herself at the creepy robot. The bat hit the laser with a satisfying crunch, ripping it from its mounting in a trail of sparks. It flew across the road and smashed into a trashcan. The Arachnobot beeped balefully, as if bemused by her sudden attack and the loss of its weapon. Pressing her advantage, Darcy whacked it again with a grunt. To her dismay the hit did almost no damage to the robot but sent a shuddering impact up her arms. She took another panicked swing and swiped the legs out from under it. It fell with a crash. It gave another angry sounding chirp, which might have been cute if the bloody thing hadn’t been trying to kill her. A small hatch in the top of the robot whirred open and one of the clawed metal legs reached inside. It pulled out something that looked alarmingly like a grenade.

‘Oh, shit!’ Darcy was already backing away, her fight response rapidly deserting her. Flight suddenly seemed like a much better idea. She only hoped the others had managed to get to safety.

The buzz of displaced air made her flinch away instinctively. There was a crunching clang and when she looked back the Arachnobot was twitching and sparking, a blue and white shield pinning it to the sidewalk. It gave a sad little squeak and fell silent.

The grenade, however, sat innocuously beside it, red light blinking steadily.

Darcy froze. 

A heavy boot kicked the grenade away. Hands grabbed at her, forcing her into a crouch and a large body wrapped protectively around her. She felt, rather than heard, the grenade go off as a roaring wall of heat descended on them, her skin suddenly alive with a thousand scorching pinpricks, debris pounding the shield at her back, though the arm holding it remained firm.

When finally she was released she got slowly to her feet on trembling legs, her ears ringing and her heart thumping so hard she wondered if it might break through her ribs. She was still clutching her baseball bat tightly in one hand.

‘Darcy?’ The sound was oddly muted and she shook her head, looking up.

Steve.

Except it wasn’t Steve. It was Captain America. Sure, the suit was a more subdued navy than previous incarnations and his beard was a bit longer but as he tossed the shield deftly into his shoulder harness she could only stare. It was Captain America in all his glory.

Except that his eyes were wide and panicked and there was none of the calm determination she would expect from the nation’s hero. He gripped her upper arms and gave her a slight shake making her teeth chatter in her head.

‘Are you okay?’ he said frantically. ‘Fuck, I’d hoped you hadn’t got caught up in this.’

That was all Steve.

She wasn’t prepared for this. Especially not to see him in action, saving people. Saving her. It was mortifying how long she stared at him without saying a word but she couldn’t seem to find her voice.

‘Darcy, are you okay?’ Steve said again and she nodded dumbly. She swallowed, her mouth dry, and coughed.

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ she managed to say. ‘Aside from all the…’ She gave a vague wave to the demolished street.

‘It’s not safe for you here,’ he pointed out, rather redundantly in her opinion, but he was pushing her hair out of her eyes and looking at her with such tenderness that she forgot the acerbic comment that rose to her lips. Was it tenderness or was it justifiable concern that he would show for any member of the public? Her eyes flicked to his lips. He was biting his bottom lip, sucking it between his teeth and it made her feel hot all over. His grip on her arms tightened a fraction as he gazed at her.

A chirp of laser fire and the subsequent explosion pulled her sharply from her trance. Steve blinked and looked over his shoulder. Following his gaze Darcy shuddered. About six more of those damned robots were scurrying down the road. They were so fucking creepy.

‘Come on,’ Steve said, giving her a slight push in the direction that Wanda, Janet and Hope had taken. He tapped his ear. ‘Tony, can I get some air support. I’ve got six of those things on my tail and a civilian on the ground.’

Darcy ignored the little burst of hurt that she felt to be described so dismissively. Not really the time to indulge her ego. ‘Four civilians,’ she said loudly, pointing up ahead.

‘Make that four civilians, Tony, including a child,’ Steve said without a blink, speeding up his pace. Darcy sighed and accelerated into a graceless jog to keep up with him. Wanda and Janet hadn’t made nearly as much ground as Darcy was hoping and Hope was clearly struggling, practically being dragged along by her mother. As Darcy and Steve approached the three of them whirled around, Janet shoving Hope behind her, Wanda raising her fists defensively. She dropped them almost immediately and Hope rushed out from behind her mother.

‘Captain Amewica!’ she screamed happily, throwing her arms around his knee and hugging him tightly. 

Maybe that should have been her reaction, Darcy mused. Enthusiastic and unequivocal. Better than a vacant stare.

Despite everything, Steve managed a grin. He dropped carefully into a crouch and put out a hand to Hope. She grabbed it, her eyes widening in awe. Darcy was pretty sure the little girl was on the verge of throwing up with excitement when there was a roar and Iron Man swooped over and began firing repulsor beams at the approaching horde of robots. Hope’s mouth fell open and she dropped Steve’s hand, staring after the flying superhero. Steve looked almost put out and Darcy noticed she was not the only one smothering a smile at his blatant chagrin, Janet was hiding hers behind her sleeve, her hand on her daughter’s head.

Straightening up, Steve rubbed a hand over the smooth surface of his helmet.

‘I think we need to get you ladies to a safer location,’ he said authoritatively, to relieved nods all round. He tapped his communication device. ‘Maria, where are you?’ He paused, frowning. ‘Next intersection? We’ll be there in two minutes.’

He picked up Hope and began herding them up the road. On the left hand side of the intersection was parked a heavily armoured black van with tinted windows and Steve headed straight towards it.

‘We’re outside,’ he said. There was barely a pause and then the door snapped open and a woman dressed in black, handgun strapped to her thigh and a no-nonsense expression on her face, looked out. She gave them all a long look and then stepped back with a sharp nod. Steve began to shuffle his charges into the van. Darcy was the last to get in and Steve caught her arm. ‘Stay here, Maria will keep you all safe,’ he said urgently. ‘I’ll be back later, we should talk.’

Darcy gave a mute nod and he exchanged another long look with Maria before he was gone, door slamming in his wake. Darcy sighed and turned back to the other occupants of the van. Maria tossed a first aid kit to Wanda, who was helping Janet to sit down on the floor. Wanda gave her a grateful nod and then gestured at Hope to sit next to her mother. The little girl did as she was bid without fuss, cuddling into Janet’s side, her eyes wide and her thumb in her mouth. Darcy looked up to find Maria surveying her critically and straightened her spine.

‘You’re safe now,’ Maria said gruffly, giving the van wall a thump. ‘It’d withstand a nuclear blast.’

The possibility of a nuclear blast wasn’t exactly a comforting thought but Darcy nodded anyway and gave a weak smile.

‘Good to know.’

Maria sat down again in front of a bank of computers and began speaking rapidly, fingers flitting across blue holographic screens as she pulled up maps, and blueprints, and a load of things Darcy couldn’t even name, all the while directing operations with unflappable poise. She glanced back at Darcy and gestured her into the other seat. Without breaking the rapid fire instructions she was giving she handed Darcy a small earbud and pointed to her ear. When there was a pause Maria mouthed, ‘ _It’s a communications link. You can listen in_.’

Darcy put the contraption hesitantly in her ear and suddenly a voice that she recognised as Tony Stark’s was saying irritably, ‘Seriously, this is ripped off StarkTech but whoever put this together takes absolutely no pride in their workmanship.’

‘Cool story, Tony,’ a male voice responded with a grunt. ‘You want to stop complaining about the state of modern manufacturing and give me a hand here?’

There was the sound of repulsor fire and then the conversation continued, with interjections from most of the team. Darcy noticed that Steve didn’t say much but the others were pretty vocal despite apparently being in the middle of a heated battle. By the time they had disposed of the last of the Arachnobots Darcy had learned that Iron Man took shoddy engineering very personally, the Winter Soldier _really_ hated spiders, Black Widow’s dry asides were hilarious, and Falcon sounded like a guy that Darcy would like to have a beer with.

‘Stark, is the area secure? I’ve got the police and EMTs on standby at the edge of the cordon,’ Maria said briskly.

There was a muffled crash and then Iron Man spoke up. ‘Area’s secure, send them in. I’ve got a group of civilians near the zoo who need urgent medical attention.’

Maria tapped at the screen and a map popped up with a series of red dots scattered across it. ‘I’ve got you. I’ll send them straight there.’

Darcy felt some of the tension in her shoulders loosen now that the battle was over, and Steve was safe. She wondered what he might say to her when he came back. Did he miss her like she missed him? Was she foolish to hope?

There was another crackle of static and then Tony said, ‘Cap, who was that woman I saw you with earlier?’

Darcy blinked and didn’t meet Maria’s quick sidelong glance.

‘It was no-one, Tony,’ Steve said sharply.

‘Didn’t look like no-one, it looked like Darcy Lewis.’ Tony paused and then said, ‘I liked her.’

‘You met her twice,’ Steve bit out. ‘She works around here, got caught in the crossfire.’

‘You going to get your head out your ass, Cap, and ask her out again?’ Natasha interjected.

‘Yes, good idea. You should do that, Steve.’ That sounded like Falcon.

‘I’m not going to ask her out,’ Steve growled. ‘What we had is over, it’s done. Now can we concentrate on the clean up?’

Darcy plucked the device from her ear, figuring she’d heard enough. She felt like a fool. A pathetic, hopeless fool. The laser burn on her arm started to throb viciously, a sharp counterpoint to the pain of Steve’s unequivocal rejection. She avoided Maria’s eye, not wanting to see any pity there, and got up from her seat. Wanda looked up as she crossed the van and Janet gave a weak smile, her arm around Hope’s shoulders, the toddler’s eyes drooping heavily.

‘All the excitement wiped her out?’ Darcy said.

‘Excitement? Is that what we’re calling it?’ Wanda responded raising her eyebrows.

Maria came up behind them.

‘The EMTs are outside,’ she said. ‘I think you should get them to check you out.’

Wanda got up with alacrity and helped a shaky Janet to her feet. Darcy picked up Hope who wrapped her arms around Darcy’s neck and nuzzled drowsily into her shoulder.

‘Thanks for letting us hide out here,’ Wanda said with a grin in Maria’s direction.

‘It’s no problem,’ Maria said with a curt nod, opening the door for them. Darcy stepped down after the other women, careful of her sleepy burden and gave Maria a small smile, which the other woman returned.

Once the EMTs had applied a dressing to Darcy’s burn, she and Wanda were quickly given the all clear. Other than a few bruises and scratches they were relatively unscathed and Darcy could feel weariness enveloping her. Janet and Hope gave them a wave from the back of the ambulance as it prepared to transport them to the nearest hospital and Darcy waved back, before resting her head on Wanda’s shoulder.

‘Can we go home now?’ she said quietly. 

Wanda twisted her head to give her a hard stare. ‘You don’t want to hang around?’ she said slowly.

Darcy shook her head. ‘I want a bath and a nap,’ she said with a yawn. ‘Although first I’ve got to do something about the shop.’

‘God, I’d forgotten about that. It’s a right state, glass everywhere.’ She slung an arm around Darcy. ‘Come on you, the quicker we get that sorted, the quicker we can get into bed.’

‘You coming on to me?’ Darcy said with a slightly lacklustre attempt at a saucy wink which made Wanda elbow her in the ribs.

‘Am I going to have to report you for workplace sexual harassment? Anyway, it’s not like you could keep up with me,’ Wanda said with a laugh.

Darcy yawned again. ‘Good point,’ she said. ‘Come on then, let’s go clean up.’


End file.
